More than 4000 farmers in Lundazi district, Eastern Province, have successfully deposited their money in readiness for receiving inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
The farmers who translate to 42 percent (4,109) of the total registered number of famers have deposited a sum of K1,643,600 in the district account and will soon start receiving their inputs.
This was disclosed by the District Marketing and Development Officer, Michael Zulu, in an interview with Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Lundazi.
” 4,328 farmers in Lundazi district of Eastern Province have been validated and have started depositing money under the FISP programme,” he said.
Mr Zulu said so far, a total of 4, 109 farmers have successfully deposited the money as per requirement before receiving the inputs.
He disclosed that Lundazi district has a total number of 10,946 FISP beneficiaries who were expected to receive inputs this farming season.
Mr Zulu said the district had received the allocated number of inputs and was ready to commence the distribution.
The District Marketing Officer stated that the district received 10,946 by 10 kilograms of maize, 2,737 by 25kg of Soya beans, 2,737 by 20kg of groundnuts, 2,736 by 20kg of common beans, and 2,736 by 5kg of Sunflower.
“Farmers under FISP are expected to get a 10 kg of maize seed, 3 by 50 kg of D- Compound fertilizer, 3 by 50 kg of Urea fertilizer and select one type of legume seeds,” Mr Zulu stated.
Meanwhile, the District Marketing Officer has disclosed that system failure in tagging names and lack of internet facilities is slowing the validation process .
Mr Zulu further cited the process of validating phone numbers against registered names and having fewer clean names in the system as another challenge during the FISP registration process.
And District Agricultural Coordinator, Edward Hachundu has threatened to remove beneficiaries of the FISP programme if they are found selling inputs.
Mr Hachundu said the goverment was spending huge sums of money on FISP adding that farmers who were in the habit of selling inputs were being counter-productive and should completely be removed from the goverment sponsored social protection programme.
The DACO said the government was subsidizing means of production to ensure that food security is improved in the country.
“Government wants people to be food secure and FISP is a deliberate initiative that has been put in place to ensure that the country produces enough food to alleviate household hunger and improved livelihoods through improved incomes as farming is a business too,” the DACO said.
