By Peter Sukwa in Lundazi
Mon 20 Jan. 2014, 14:00 CAT
LUNDAZI district commissioner Janet Mvula says about 4,000 farmers have been swindled out of their money by some con men who promised to give them fertiliser. In an interview in Lundazi, Mvula disclosed that the conmen collected some money from the farmers under the pretext that they would give them fertiliser which they did not do.
She explained that unscrupulous businessmen were going round registering farmers in the district that they were an organisation which wanted to assist farmers to purchase fertiliser.
Mvula said the conmen who were moving with a small national flag deceived farmers who thought they were from the government and trusted them to deliver inputs.
She said the farmers were made to pay K200 per group of ten.
Mvula further said the conmen promised to supply about 80 packs of fertiliser to the farmers.
She disclosed that the affected farmers were from Chikomeni, Mucheleka and other parts of the district.
"Yes, I received a report that conmen swindled some farmers here in the district out of an undisclosed amount of money and have since run away. These conmen were spread in other parts like Chipata and Petauke but they were networking with the Lundazi team. To make things worse, these people were moving with a national flag pretending to be government officers but farmers did not report the matter to my office not until they disappeared without supplying inputs," Mvula said.
She, however, said the farmers were to blame and that this should serve as a warning to them as they did not want to report the matter to the government early.
Mvula said there was need for farmers in the district to report anyone who came to do business in the district to her office to avoid being swindled.
And Mvula further disclosed that the district had received two truckloads of Urea fertiliser under the Farmer Input Support Programme two weeks ago.
She said the district had received a total of 57 metric tonnes of both D-compound and Urea fertiliser for the 2013/2014 farming season.
Mvula said all the fertiliser received had since been distributed.
Labels: CRIME, FERTILIZER
posted by MrK @ 2:27 PM
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