Chituwo counsels farmers on conservation farming

Chituwo counsels farmers on conservation farming
Written by Christopher Chipemba in Mbala
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:34:38 PM

AGRICULTURE minister Dr Brian Chituwo has urged farmers to adopt intensive conservation farming in order to increase their maize yields. Visiting farmers at Chinenke irrigation project in Mbala on Sunday, Dr Chituwo said the government would provide the required support to enable farmers increase their yield per hectare from the current 1.5 metric tonnes to 3 metric tonnes.

He said in the near future, the inputs provided to farmers under the Fertiliser Support Programme would include lime to neutralise the acidic soils that were prominent in Northern Province.

Dr Chituwo commended farmers at Chinenke for effectively utilising the community water furrow for irrigation.

He called on all the extension staff from the ministry of agriculture to continue guiding farmers on how to use innovative farming technologies, which would promote sustenance of good soil structures.

Meanwhile, farmers in Chinenke have appealed to the government to quickly avail money to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to enable them resume buying maize from farmers in the district.

The farmers said though they commend the government for securing more funds, they were worried that a lot of maize would go to waste if the government did not release the money it had sourced quickly.

According to the report provided to Dr Chituwo during his visit, by Mbala district agriculture coordinator Andrew Banda, only 75,043 x 50 kilogramme bags had been bought by both the FRA and a private miller from an estimated total of 200,000 bags available in the district.