Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary has called for speedy distribution of farming inputs under the Fertilizer Support programme, FSP in the province .
Elijah Chisanga says government will not accept unnecessary lapses in the distribution of the inputs on which colossal sums of money has been spent in subsidies.
Mr. Chisanga told ZANIS in Lusaka today that Lusaka province has received 35,689 X 50kg bags of urea, 14,255 X 50 kg bags of D. compound fertiliser and 18,788 X 10 kg bags of seed.
Lusaka district has been allocated 21,984 X 50 kg bags of urea and an equal quantity of D. compound fertilizer.
Mr Chisanga said the district has also been allocated 128 X 10 kg bags of seed which farmers will directly access from the supplier Omnia.
“With these inputs in place, I wish to appeal to the farming community in the province to go flat out and access the inputs in readiness for the planting season,” said Mr Chisanga.
Mr Chisanga said it is government’s expectation that farmers will respond overwhelmingly to the substantial increase in subsidy which has resulted in the price of fertilizer falling to as low as K50,000 per 50kg bag.
He said the country needs to produce more food in order to mitigate the rising food prices on the world market.
Meanwhile , Mr Chisanga also said the province has welcomed the announcement by Acting president Rupiah Banda to extend the FSP for the benefit of public service workers as well.
He urged public workers in the province to take advantage of the facility to produce more food in order to strengthen household and national food security.
The permanent secretary also disclosed that grading of feeder roads is currently underway in Lusaka province using the road construction equipment government recently from China.
Mr Chisanga said priority is being given to feeder roads in rural parts of the province such as Luangwa in order to facilitate the delivery and distribution of agriculture inputs and other services.
And Namwala District has received a total of 2,930 both top and basal dressing fertilizers under the Fertiliser Support programme [FSP].
And the Programme Against Malnutrition [PAM] has reduced the number of beneficiaries from 164 during the 2007/2008 farming season to 108 farmers due to low and poor loan repayments.
Senior Agriculture Officer Mr. Godwin Chate disclosed in an interview with ZANIS that this year’s input allocation was enough to cater for all the farmers in the District.
Mr Chate who is also acting District agriculture coordinator said the District was over supplied by 552 bags of fertilizer but that the fertilizer has since been taken to Choma district .
He however revealed explained that 14 bags of compound “D’ got lost in transit to Namwala adding that the driver of the trunk has since been held responsible.
And Mr Chate said PAM has decided to reduce the number of beneficiaries because of the poor loan repayment in the District.
“It has been observed by PAM that farmers in the District have a habit of not paying back the loans they get so PAM has seen it fit to reduce the number of beneficiaries,” said Mr Chate.
Mr. Chate named Ngabo and Kabulamwanda as areas where vulnerable but viable farmers would benefit from this year’s inputs from PAM.
PAM has already delivered a total of 226 bags of both basal and top fertilizers for this year’s farming season as well as maize seeds, groundnuts, sorghum, and millet.
ZANIS/JS/MK/ENDS
SATA HAS NO FARM HIMSELF,HOW CAN HE TALK OF WHAT HE DOESNT KNOW.
I also want fetilizer in my farm. Can those that are distributing remember to drop somr at my farm.
#1 it does not mean that when u dont have athing then u dont know about that thing.so try to think a lil critical than a staunch Homo Habilis(HH) or Rubish bin(RB) cadre.i know u can do better so get down to it.
To insure the success of the FSP and other agriculture based programmes, RB must be voted into office come 30/10. If we blunder and chose someone else, we can kiss all these initiatives goodbye. Remember that serpents can’t be trusted. Just ask Adam.
#1 is SATA mentioned anywhere in the article?
# 5. Good question to #1. And #1 can you answer the question please.
#1 did not just mislead me I guess! I had to read the article twice to search for the part about Sata which I thought I had missed. Not everyone is thinking about Sata but like that you just make all of us be aware of him.
I think you are the thug in this case!
chamba…
#1 you nuh know seh every man is born a farmer from craetion? I and I no need no farm because de whole Earth has been given unto I for cultivation, seen? Jah say so! Read de holy book, a so it is written.
I gave Sata part of a land at my farm but he said he was busy with campaigning.
We will get the cheap fertilizer but when it comes to voting, we shall vote for change. Viva Pf. Mwamukolo
#10 why cant you use plain English if you wish for us to benefit from your rumbling? I want to understand what you are saying but with difficult. Can you make it easy for me please? I am very sure you wouldn’t want me to look at you as a ‘wanna be’ your language is suggesting.
it´s election tym again
no 1 and company be objective. why raising irrelevant issues that dont concern the subject at hand
that’s good advice #12 get as much free stuff as possible but still vote on the BOAT
#1. learn to read and analyse articles before you blogg. Chaps like are seemingly confused!!! I wonder if you have even read the article. BLOODY BASTARED.
Mundiya Sikatana ….GO AND USE COW DUNG
RB 4 life
Send some to Southern and Western provinces because farmers have not received any so far. MMD is fast tracking fertiliser distribution. While I do not enjoy seeing anyone dying but it seems any death of a politician is a blessing to a poor man. look at what happened during kanyama bye election, MMD worked very hard to construct drainage systems. it seems now the farmers have won a jackpot. So should we have more deaths of politicians every month in order to see meaningful development? Vote wisely
#13 me chat how me chat and me nuh tek back talk, seen? If yu looking for “plain English” visit de Queen of England. I and I a Rebel, that means me nuh speak dem slave master’s language, seen? Yu nuh check say even Yeshua did speak in parables no matter how much de Heathen and de Pharisees beg him to speak plainly! Jah know!
#1. You seem to have a problem within yourself.
The story says “PS calls for…” but #1 being politically posessed obviously took PS for PF.
For once lets do omething right. The PS is right.Distribut fetilizer now so we can have a gud havest next year. To have amaka [power]to do all the work [jobs] that shall be created next year. Vote pamaka. Mwamukolo!!!!!!!!
nipabwatoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Thats the problem of doing things hush hush. Why force farmers to get inputs yet when they say in good time that they need inputs, u say govt does not have money, but during this farming season suddenly fert has become so cheap. Imwe from 250 to 50pin is a lot of money and govt must explain how they will cushion this and not just say they will source the top up from areas which dont need money. If MMD was wise, they shud have continued with development even after Mtonga died so that Kanyama will be a good place to be in but alas, those bull dozers and graders are packed.
I SATA HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH FARMING. TO ME FARMING IS A WASTE OF TIME AND RESOURCES SINCE I CAN IMPORT CHEAP GMOs FROM AMERIKA. I WILL IMPROVE FISHING METHODS FROM CANOES TO SPEED BOATS. VOTE PA BWATO FOR CHEAP BUKABUKA