Agriculture and Cooperatives Permanent Secretary Abedanigo Banda says his ministry has increased the number of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) to 914, 690 for the 2011/2012 agricultural season.
Mr. Banda said the number of beneficiaries has been increased from 891,500 during the 2010/2011 season.
The Permanent Secretary saying this when he officially opened the 2011/2012 season farmer input support programme sensitization workshop at New Fairmount Hotel in Livingstone today.
“ A total of 182,454 metric tonnes of fertilizer, 9,107.70 metric tonnes of maize seed is earmarked to be distributed to smallholder farmers throughout the country, “ he said.
He clarified that 39 metric tonnes of rice seed will be distributed to farmers during this season in Luapula, Northern and North-western provinces adding that a better job by his ministry will be done in provinces allocated with rice packs.
Mr. Banda told workshop participants that the increase in inputs to be distributed will demand more work in order to successfully implement the programme.
He implored all the participants to work harder to serve the farmers than they did during the previous season.
Mr. Banda urged extension staff from the department of agriculture and researchers from the Zambia agricultural research institute to double the extension efforts to farmers benefiting from the rice pack in order to impart the necessary technical skills in the beneficiary farmers.
He directed Provincial agricultural coordinators and district agricultural coordinators to facilitator the smooth operations of the farmer input support programme and of the camp agricultural committees.
The workshop participants were drawn from five provinces of the country and senior agricultural officers from the ministry’s headquarters in Lusaka
Meanwhile, Mr. Banda called for adequate distribution and documentation of FISP activities at all levels as the programme coordination office has already begun the distribution of FISP implementation documents to all provinces.
The Permanent secretary stated that there should be no excuse for failing to select farmers and distribute inputs on time as funds for the exercise have already been disbursed to all districts.
Mr. Banda bemoaned the laxity by some cooperatives when it comes to acquitting for collected inputs adding that cooperatives should only be issued with applications to deposit for the 2011/2012 season upon confirmation that they have submitted goods input vouchers for inputs collected for the previous.
The workshop participants included Provincial agricultural coordinators, district agricultural coordinators, some district agricultural staff and other senior agricultural officers drawn from Lusaka, Western, Central, Eastern and Southern provinces.
ZANIS
Donchi kubeba.. Dandy krazy’s new tune search for it on YOUTUBE… Enjoy………..oh and remember DONCHI KUBEBA…………
What do these bembas think they are….monkeys maybe….? . . . how can any foolish ***** start putting “tribal” banners splashed with dont kubeba in the heart of Tongas. This bemba thing sucks and luckily zambia is bigger than this bemba idiocy…
Its not the question of increasing the number of the Farmer Inputs but also to know in which hands our maize ends.. In zambia we have more beer breweries than nation millings and thousands of tones finish in brewers depots,, Chibuku is ever on the market. Â
Way to go GRZ. Europe has Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), the USA similar support subsidies. Let us support our farmers and make food cheaper for the masses. The Zambian farmers are a beacon of hope and pride. The opportunities in this sector are enormous for Zambia. GRZ must go further and implement agro-processing incentives so that the country can position itself as a bread basket. We have enormous export markets in e.g. Congo and Angola etc. Congo, for example, still imports chickens from Brazil and tomatoes from the netherlands. Come Zambians.
Today the politicies in based on insulties amongest the parties, democracy is not all about insuties but respecting one another.When we talk about our poor zambian people, they benefit
nothing from the national bagite . In europe today a poor man is able to driver, to drink pure water and electricity in his /her house.But in zambia everything is difficulty today.