UPND in Southern Province has said there was nothing wrong with the traditional leaders to stop their subjects from collecting fertilizer and seed under the government’s FISP programme if the inputs were late.
But former Patriotic Front (PF) Dr. Mubitana Ward aspiring candidate in the August 11, 2016 general election Chitoshi Mulenga said those discouraging farmers from accessing FISP must be punished.
In an interview with the Daily Nation in Livingstone, UPND’s Neto Halwabala said it was unfortunate that PF deputy spokesperson Frank Bwalya attacked the chiefs in the media without verifying his facts.
Mr. Halwabala said that the chiefs as leaders have the right to advise their subjects on what is correct and wrong in order for them to make informed decisions about their livelihood.
“Frank Bwalya and PF have exposed their ignorance on agriculture. They do not know that agriculture is business and not charity in this modern era. His threats on the alleged chiefs is unfortunate because farming is like a flight, you miss it then it’s gone.
“FISP is not for free but these farmers are paying for it, so PF should realise that it is not mandatory to receive these inputs. Farmers who are refusing to accept FISP have the right to do so because it is their right especially that it has delayed and that has nothing to do with chiefs,” he said.
Mr. Halwabala, who is the provincial publicity and informational secretary, said the ruling party’s statement issued through a media briefing held by Mr. Bwalya was a recipe of confusion and must not be allowed.
“Why should someone get inputs in January when the planting season is in November and December? His statement is unfortunate. We advise him to avoid commenting on issues he does not understand but concentrate sorting out the problems that have engulfed his party,” he said.
But former Patriotic Front (PF) Dr. Mubitana Ward aspiring candidate in the August 11, 2016 general election Chitoshi Mulenga said those discouraging farmers from accessing FISP must be punished.
“Those chiefs who are discouraging farmers from getting FISP in Southern Province must be punished. They should not turn their palaces into political arenas. FISP means well to the farmers and they just continue accessing it,” he said.
He said that chiefs were receiving huge salaries from Government and that they should not make their subjects poorer by discouraging them to access FISP.
“Chiefs should be in fore front encouraging their subjects to access FISP and not what is happening in this province. No subject will respect them if there is poverty in the chiefdom. We are tired of these chiefs in Southern Province….why are they like this?” he wondered.
Paya farmer (Pf) planting is usually done in November. Dont even receivec FISP eastern province and some provinces received the seeds a long time ago.
Very disorganised thinking.
I have never seen such myopic thinking in the history of Zambia.
How can you encourage behaviour that is negative to productivity and encouraging hunger?
Happy New Year from our Family, Nick Myself and Charlie to yours
Thanks
BB2014
PF are nuts. They are crazy. They are cockroaches.
UPND are jokers, just like their supporters. The same chaps will come and blame Lungu after famine hits Southern province
Well said. Who are the pf to dictate to us when we plant and when we use the toilet. Lungu is a dictator who is dangerous to our peace. Meanwhile good to see ndanje khakis. I remember the good times we had on tumfweko where you were constantly schooled by myself. Happy new year to all of you and happy blogging in the new year year. Nez live from my holiday home in Mauritius
A shameless political retribution by the PF government.
Rains started early December.what is wrong with you@ Lukutu.
Your big idea is to have people starve and then blame it on PF…What a shame!
Key word here is “usually”
Lukutu Presdo,
Where did you study your agriculture? The rainfall pattern has changed and rains in agroecological zone 1 is being received at the end of November. Planting rains only in December. Planting dates are also influenced by the maturity period of the variety.
Slowly the Maize belt in zambia is moving from the south to the north and if tonga chiefs want to play polititcs with food, then its only their people who will suffer. Shame
@shu shu shu great observations. In fact there’s a variety that you can plant as late as 15th January. So all this about politics and shooting in one’s feet. Wishing those chiefs a bumper 2017
So the supposedly Irrational Father or Fatherless Frank Bwalya had a valid point after all.
Bashi Mine know how to mine but know nothing about farming. Farming is a business and farmers farm to feed themselves and make a living out of farming. Farmers farm to make moneyand so not produce for Patriotic type of reasons. Since farmers are buying the FISP inputs timing of input supply is crucial. Buying inputs and planting crops are business decisions and have nothing to do with politics. The likes of Bwalya who know very little about farming should leave the Chiefs and their subjects to get on with their farming business. If the illegitimacy is haunting the PF the solution is to hear the Petition,dispose it off and then move on. That is the only way Edward will have a peace of mind and unite the Nation.
@Moomba, it’s not my business whether you people get the items or not but I have two things in my mind 1) To get the FISP pack one must have paid 400 kwacha plus members subscription, so what happens to this money? 2) If your people refuse to plant food is the Upnd ready to fill the gap? Finally I would appeal to you to stop acting on impulse ….politics will not feed us.
The peasant farmers should get the inputs as they are entitled to it. If they consider that the rain-fed planting season is gone, let them plant it in smaller quantities under irrigation even with the most basic means e.g. bucket/watering can for consumption as fresh maize.
Leave these people and see if at all HH will feed them. They are even aware of the changes in the weather partten but remain stabon. Ilyo lyashi leynu nomba boi!
Don’t send food next year to areas were Chiefs are discouraging people to collect inputs
Southern Province is the bread basket of Zambia. Like it or not! So if they don’t farm the the whole country will be starving! If Tongas experience hunger, then cry for the rest of Zambia! That is why PF is panicking!
It is no longer Zambia’s bread basket. The Eastern and Central are actually now Zambia’s bread baskets.
Yes send relief food to areas were they collect inputs on time, to shame the devils. How dare they deliver inputs to the south late.
Moono is a pure Tonga who is living in the past. Southern Province stopped being the bread basket of Zambia since the Chiluba days when denkete cleared large numbers of their cattle. Moono my advice is visit the Centrail statistics website and download some of their agriculture report before you start exhibiting your ignorance
Very disorganised thinking.
I have never seen such myopic thinking in the history of Zambia.
How can you encourage behaviour that is negative to productivity and encouraging hunger?
This the same thinking they used after elections – encouraging their people to burn building and destroy infrastructure.
Tonga chiefs thinks by so doing their are decampagnin PF , time for politing is over .zambians are able to tell who means we’ll. Tell your subject hh to play his cards well in 2037 God willing…………. ..
Back to stone age politics of the Kaunda era.
Excellent response UPND,
let’s not glorify FISP as if it’s end to everything.
PF can go to hell with its useless FISP program used for Political mileage.
Most genuine farmers in Southern Province can afford farm inputs,,only PF cadres masquerading as farmers wil suffer.
To hell.!
Time will tell sir.Anger won’t take HH to plot 1.
Is it true that in Southern Province everything in the household was registered as voters? Is it true that tat is why villages there became more populated than towns on Copperbelt – I mean constituents? Even those “things” in the barns were registered! … And they learned nepotism and tribalism too!
To answer your question , answer this question…. ” is it true that all bembas are theives ? “
@Mana its your own cup of tea. Refuse but remember its on record and your blame game won’t take you any where.
You do not have to read the article. Anything related to chuundu is likely related to UPNDonkeys or its variant UPNsnail-Donkeys, i.e. something which does not make sense.
Useless type of advice from the chiefs
Bembas know nothing about farming. Try advising the people of Southern province if you want them to be thieves. We know thieving is embedded in your DNA.
Bwana things are changing – continue living in fools paradise.
This is how you can tell that there is no leadership in UPND.
When you are a true leader you will know when we wrong is committed – whether by those supporting you or those not.
But for UPND anything that antagonizes the government they will back it up – whether wrong or right.
This why they chose to decampaign referendum. No valid reason has been advanced by the UPND.
Come to think of it; UPND under HH have been losing for the past six (6) elections. Looking at the type of leadership they are displaying I think they deserve it.
How many times did sata lose ?
@ 14.1 Mana from IMF,
Sata lost only three (3) times NOT six (6) times.
But HH may lose even more than 12 times before he becomes too old and gives up.
Remember that now the frequency of chances (elections) has been reduced by the introduction of the new constitution that has brought the issue of running mate at second level, and cabinet picking from their team at third level.
So chances of bye elections are next to zero. Thus in 2021 HH must add 5 years to his age. If he fails, then he must add 10 years for 2026, 15 years for 2031, 20 years for 2036, etc.
Meanwhile all UPND cadres, including senior cadres are just waiting, waiting to crown HH king.
Mana from IMF – So, you think HH is Sata
They should just say that they knew that .,,…., will bring army worms
This is wrong by any means. Climatic change, and we do not have a very diverse base of foods reserves. Please let us not politicize hunger, when a man made famine hits, people will laugh at us for being petty and silly.
What a bad response from the under 5 party that claims to have won the last election. Its only southern province that depend on maize and they will die of hunger if they don’t plant now. Kekeke!
LOLEST! It is you and your relatives that will die of hunger. We always grow enough to eat whether with or without FISP!
We dont rely on the unreliable Govt – that is the chiefs are telling people to shun your belated useless FISP!! It has backfired on you if you wanted to punish for voting Dundumwezi!! In 2021 the whole SP is going Dundumwezi formula!
Yaba nakolewa guys. Chalila here in Mauritius at my holiday home. I love you all whether pf fdd or upnd. You are all my brothers. As for Lusaka times how long does it take to count votes that are already counted by a computer kikiki ala announce the winners of the polls. Don’t do an ecz
Nez my bro,for once I concur with you.There’s so much hate on social media with regards to political affiliation….at the end of the day wether ECL , HH we all have our own responsibilities to attend to.None of these guys even know us personally…..So why the hate?
The chiefs are correct, they have been farming all their lives. How does ‘ntolelefye’, usually busy in the maize field plundering today becomes an advisor to farmers?. Disappear (seleni a pa) see you in Oct/Nov 2017 to bring farming inputs to farmers in Southern province.
am sure they are just accusing the chiefs. this is purely the work of a political party. if a chief told me that. I would equally tell him or her not to accept his delayed salaries. These same politicians like MPs would accept the gratuity even if it was paid posthumously – in 2055.
The southern province chiefs they have the right to inspirer and empower there people.
There reaction is from experience with this Administration, hardly it mentions taxpayer or give credit to taxpayer.
Firstly we don’t take pride in moving around with a begging bowl, secondly we have experienced worst dry spells since the beginning of 2000,through God’s mercy we have conquered hunger, even the so called rainbelts like muchinga, luapula, northern, still can’t beat us in terms of production, so take your FISP as showel it up your duodenal pipe. May God have mercy on your sorry souls.
Happy bountiful new year to all my people in the south west,pray hard, work hard, play hard, ichichine echi banyonga mumitima, No matter how many times they put you down, you still rise.
But why is it that when it is something to do with Southern Province, the UPND have to respond? Just thinking.
Only a caterpillar would ask a Republican why Texas is so dear to his heart, what a backward question. Next please!
That is always the problem with appointing government and party officials who are just cadres and lack practical skill in management of ministries. How does some one in the rightful mind deliver farming inputs in January and still think he is right ? By the way, we don’ t grow caterpilars or nconkonono but maize which has got a specific period. Do people like Frank Bwalya and this Mulenga fimo fimo own farms apart from just being professionals in eating nshima which they do not know how the maize where it comes from is produced ? Almost all the government officials in the PF starting from the President do not own farms and they do not even know how to grow maize because they are just Kaponyas. What tangible can they give to people apart from stealing ?
What’s your point kapoli iwe?just yapping rubbish on social media……
All I make from the arguments advanced is everyone is defensive of ignorance and pivoting from substance! The bottom line referencing the agro experts and meteorology department all inputs to be accessed by deserving farmers should reach the collection points before the determined expected onset of the rains! If anything these inputs should be in the depots by end of October! Incompetence has its own costs and the government understands! Its pointless to make people receive the inputs a month after the rains had started worse still in January! Has Mt Makulu developed super early maturing crop varieties considering here that its maize seed we are talking about! Government should be telling people that those who still wish to take a risk can still access the inputs while the chiefs concerns…
contd…. for their subjects is a warning that late planting may affect the crop and will be a waste collecting the inputs. Anyway most that are demonizing the chiefs have no wealth of experience as the rural farmers when it comes to growing crops!
here are two types of fertilizer the basAL and top dressing so it is too late for both?
Create a problem, slow down input distribution, no power to 5 provinces, plant explosives on power lines, and then accuse givernment of failure – you can trace the source of their strategies by their characteristic – UPNDonkeys of course, who else.
Even Sejani seems to have repented now but for the rest its the beginning.
What of the economic mess the country is in, is that UPND as well??
Terrible, you are REAL pillock.
After 5 years of “unprecedented development” driven by corruption and supported by inbred genetic 1mbecility, even mule like you, which by the way is a descendant between mare and donkey, still insist blabbing about “achievements” instead of accepting stark reality that PF experiment benefited only CONVICTED EMBEZZLER and his criminal entourage.
Beyond backwardness.
Thinking capacity so limited, this id yote can only churn out two words, the current weather patterns demand that in the south part of the country maize be planted just when you experience the first rains late October or early November by end of February you start saying bye to the rains, because of limited brains like yours, some thought of delivering inputs in January, very dull creatures.
Let them not accept Fisp inputs if in their judgement it past the application time. But do not fool the pipo that Southern is no longer the bread basket of Zambia in maize production for the last decade. FRA has the stats of sales/purchases. Number one is Eastern followed by Northern/muchinga combined then Central followed by Southern. These are facts. Ubulimi bwakale syndrome
Let me not accept the inputs if it past the application time, but I know rains there set in by end of dec. But they should lie that Southetn is the bread basket of maize, for the last decade the scenerio has changed. The first is Eastetn, followrd by Northetn/muchinga combined then central and Southern in fourth. Infact if it was not for the commercial farmers they rank lower. Go to FRA for verification. Ubulimi bwakale syndrome and the myth of bembas being thieves, ask them who commits cattle rustling. Please be reasonable. The northern part has never had maize relief. We dont need their maize, ata
That’s what happens when u appoint a NEWS READER (DORA SILITI) as Minister of Agriculture, i.e. Someone who has never planted a back-yard tomato/rape garden.
Even the Bible says in ECCLESIASTES 3:2 There’s a time for everything: A TIME TO PLANT, A TIME TO HARVEST….
You can’t switch/shift the times without dire consequences.
That’s why we can’t put HH into plot 1…going by your reasoning..He has never been in govt.Is that right sir?
Surprise comment from NEZ. Brother serious its you ? congratulations.
gk, roll out the statistics, don’t just talk.
maize planting is mainly in December.
if u exceed 25th December u must plant the 90 day maturing type of maize and ensure u add enough fertilizer.
two issues arise
1. has the maize provided under fisp been assigned as early maturing
2. to what extent will this fertilizer help the farmer this year especially d compound bcoz most people planted way back hoping they would get fertilizer early enough to put d compound.
truth is that the distribution of fertilizer has been a mess.
Just out of interest, did other provinces receive inputs on time? if so, then what caused the delay in distributing inputs in Southern province,particularly that is one of the key maize-belts of Zambia?
What is th truth? Are inputs late or not? All of you don’t comment in ignorance… this is the problem ignorance. Can we have data from one of us blogging here. Are inputs late or not?
All of us received inputs at the same time. Even this good rain came late. Anyway the inputs are not PF they are from our money as a country.
SO FISP IS NOT FREE? WHAT HAPPENS IF THESE FARMERS ACCEPT THESE INPUTS AND IT TURNS OUT THAT INDEED IT WAS TOO LATE TO PLANT? ARE THEY STILL ON THE HOOK FOR THE COST OF THESE INPUTS?
To qualify you’ve got to be a member and must pay 400 Kwacha in advance. What we must realize is that even within the system there may be sabotage so as to degrade the government.
I don’t need FISP and I planted on 15 December. Early maturing variety with D compound fertilizer has germinated 99.999%
20kg has given 40, 400, sprayed my 4 bottles of weedkiller bought from farmers’ ban at K100 each. I noticed the army worm last week and bought the medicine, sprayed the entire field using my 16 litres sprayer and all the worms are dead. Of course some leaves have some holes but the crop looks good. No grass bane. Can’t wait to apply top dressing and then wait for the harvest. For how long are we going to sing the FISP song. By the way, who is the minister of agriculture?
Please if I don’t want your FISP what’s your problem. Who are you to tell me how to farm my land….. I’m tired of tonga this tonga that. Leave them alone. Everything has to be tribal. Grow your own maize.
Your point being?
Some tongas are a problem…You are not in power and you are behaving like that..mamama Hell no