Sinazongwe farmers worried of late implementation of Agriculture financing facility

Farmers in Sinazongwe District have expressed worry over the delayed implementation of the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (SAFF).

 Gilbert Syabwengo, a farmer who  applied for support under the SAFF said the program was taking too long to be implemented.

Mr Syabwengo said the SAFF loans in form of inputs had taken longer to be redeemed by farmers yet the planting season was almost coming to the end.

“We applied for support for inputs  from the Government through the Ministry of Agriculture under the SAFF programme but unfortunately we have not been able to redeem from the agro dealers as the system is not yet ready yet the planting season is coming to the end,” he said.

Mr Syabwengo appealed to the Government to expedite the process if farmers are to meaningfully benefit from the SAFF program.

He said that since the inputs under SAFF were loans, the Government must consider giving farmers alternative forms of support that would enhance their livelihoods and provide food security.

Mr Syabwengo said the farmers that applied under this program were those that did not benefit from the farmer input support program (FISP) and Food security pack (FSP).

And Sinazongwe District Agriculture Coordinator, Valentine Kilubi said the SAFF program started on a good note with overwhelming response from farmers applying.

He said a number of farmers and Civil Servants had applied with some applications approved already.

Mr Kilubi said the Ministry of Agriculture was doing everything possible to ensure that the system is functional for farmers to redeem their inputs.

“We are waiting for agro dealers to get ready for farmers to be able to redeem their inputs as we are still expecting some rains before the end of planting season”, he said.

He appealed to farmers in Sinazongwe that applied for SAFF to exercise some patience as the system was being worked on to enable them redeem their inputs.