Maravi

Western, Northern rice farmers to get inputs

COMMENT - 82,000 tonnes of maize exported to the DRC at $200 per tonne, that is a cool $16.4 million. And who said there is no money in agriculture again? That's almost as much as ZCCM-IH received in dividend payments ($18mn). (Not that this is an excuse for ZCCM-IH to receive paltry dividends, they should have received at least $300 mn - I'm just saying.)

Western, Northern rice farmers to get inputs
By Mutale Kapekele
Fri 03 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT

ZAMBIA has introduced inputs support to rice farmers in Northern and Western provinces to boost production in the 2010-2011 farming season. The country has a rice deficit and depends on imports from Malawi and Asia to satisfy local demand.

Agriculture minister Dr Eustarkio Kazonga (left) on Wednesday disclosed that the government had already acquired 30 metric tonnes of rice seed that would be distributed in nine pilot districts of the two provinces.

As part of the agriculture diversification programme, Kazonga said the government was encouraging farmers to grow more groundnuts, mixed beans, cassava and other crops.

He also disclosed that 82,000 metric tonnes of maize had been exported to Congo DR and Zimbabwe at around US$200 per tonne.

The government set an export target of 300,000 metric tonnes of maize but Kazonga says the amount could rise to 500,000 metric tonnes as long as it did not affect local demand.

And Food and Agriculture Organisation country representative Dr Nouredin Mona advised Zambia to come up with a mechanism of giving low interest loans to small-scale farmers to increase their output and assist them to graduate to commercial farming.

In Zambia, agriculture contributes 18 to 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides a livelihood to more than 50 per cent of the population most of whom are rural based.

Labels: EUSTARKIO KAZONGA, FISP, MAIZE

posted by MrK @ 2:28 PM