Maravi

Muzeya urges more fertiliser for Kabwe under FISP

Muzeya urges more fertiliser for Kabwe under FISP
By Justin Katilungu in Kabwe
Tue 08 June 2010, 09:10 CAT

KABWE district agricultural show chairperson Gibson Muzeya has asked the government to increase fertiliser allocation under the Farmer Input Support programme (FISP) to the area since it has more voters than Kapiri Mposhi district which got more inputs last farming season.

During the district Agricultural show in Kabwe on Saturday, Muzeya urged the government to also increase farmer input packs from four to eight so that more food could be produced by a lot of farmers.

“We appeal to the government to increase fertilizer allocation under the FISP from the previous 12,644 beneficiaries last farming season to 25,000 beneficiaries this season since Kabwe is no longer a mining company and has over 70,000 registered voters compared to Kapiri-Mposhi which had higher beneficiaries but has only about 68,000 registered voters,” he said.

Muzeya said farmers in Kabwe were happy with the maize floor price and the government’s commitment shown to improving the agriculture sector through the FISP.

He said under the programme, 320 cooperative societies, 17 women clubs and seven youth groups benefited in the last farming season.

“The programme has also contributed to the bumper harvest recorded in Zambia where Kabwe district alone is expecting to produce 519,600 by 50 kg bags of maize this year compared to 394,500 by 50kg bags of maize last season,” Muzeya said.

He thanked the government for reducing the price of fertiliser on retail markets from K200,000 to K150,00 per 50kg bag on average.

Muzeya said the government should consider issuing soft loans to peasant farmers so they could improve their farming methods and be self-sustaining.

“The government should consider re-opening Lima and cooperative banks. We urge government to look for donors who can assist farmers through provision of tractors on soft and hire as this would lead to increased hectarage under cultivation,” he said.

Muzeya said the government should ask the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to quickly commence maize marketing in order to avoid farmers selling their produce to briefcase traders at low prices.

And Central Province minister Ackimson Banda said the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture was in a hurry to accelerate the development of the sector in a sustainable way through the transfer of proven technology.

Banda said this year’s theme which is ‘Sustainable Development’ was well-coined given the recent global economic meltdown which equally affected Zambia as a country.

He said over the last decade, the threat posed by climate change, environmental degradation and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and the world over had risen to top of government’s development agenda.

"It is for this reason that the government is promoting technologies like the conservation agriculture and good land management practices to improve production and productivity on our farms," Banda said.

He urged farmers in the province not to take a casual approach to agriculture as it was a well-meaning business venture.

Labels: FERTILIZER, FISP, GIBSON MUZEYA

posted by MrK @ 3:05 PM