Local transporters in Chipangali District of Eastern Province have boycotted participation in the distributions of farming inputs under the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) for the 2020/2021 farming season.
Transporters are alleging that government still owes them money for transporting seed and fertilizer during the 2019/2020 farming season.
Government has in the past engaged transporters move seed and fertilizer from the central sheds to cooperative centres.
However, transporters in the distributions of inputs from Mugubudu sheds to cooperatives centres are said to have shunned the exercise this year because they have not been paid for previous season’s exercise.
A check at the Mugubudu shed, revealed that farmers were organising their own transport to ferry inputs to their destinations.
One of the farmers James Nkhoma, from Chanje East Agricultural block, said Transporters complained that they had not been paid for the transportation of inputs last season saying that they are not willing to deliver inputs to farmers this year before they get paid what they are being owed.
Mr Nkhoma disclosed that leaders of cooperatives societies are now asking their members to contribute money to facilitate the transportation of inputs to their destinations.
”We have no option but to ask our members to contribute money so that we are able to deliver inputs closer to them,” he said.
Meanwhile Mr Nkhoma commended government for the timely distribution of inputs to farmers this year, despite the challenge of transport to ferry fertilizers and seed to farmers’ destination.
Early this year, a meeting was held in Chipangali where transporters complained that they had not been paid after Government engaged them to transport inputs from Mugubudu shed to different cooperatives.
Some of the transporters said they had to sell some of their assets to buy fuels in order to remain in business and sustain their operations because they had not being paid.
The fisp input project shd end..its a drain on resources.pipo she manage their own inputs
PAY TRANSPORTERS NOW.
WHAT IS GOING ON.
Fake news sponsored by a well known tribal angry opposition party
FISP must end. It is unsustainable. There should have been a review mechanism at the end of each season and come up with a better model each year.
This is a constituency of Vincent Mwale minister of Housing and Infrastructure, involved in the illegal acquisition of Beit stadium in Chipata and other corruption allegations. Vincent Mwale is also a leading person in disturbalisation of Senior Chief Gawa Undi of Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. The road in Chipangali and Lundazi is so bad that to drive in it will damage a car. Dora Siliya drove in this dirt road with his entourage last month end to and from Lundazi. PF ministers have no shame, any way they hijacked PF from MMD.
You know what? This PF government is too broke to pretend. The patches they are attempting appear to be too small to cover the gaping holes they created.
They would rather use the little money to set up a privatization enquiry witchunt to fix HH than pay the transporters.
@samson but I thought the government itself said four years ago it was a flop? The story said:
GOVERNMENT has declared the Farming Input Support Programme (FISP) a failed project because most farmers for whom it was intended turned the programme into a social cash transfer.
And Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya revealed that more than 7000 ghost farmers had been removed from the beneficiaries list which saw government pay a lot of money to non-existent farmers across the country.