77,000 out of the 162,000 farmers on the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) in Central Province have so far collected their inputs ahead of the 2024/2025 agriculture season.

And Central Province Minister, Mwabashike Nkulukusa is disappointed that only 77,186 set to benefit from the programme have managed to collect their inputs yet the rains have started.

Mr Nkulukusa said at the second and third quarter Central Province Development Coordinating Committee (PDCC) meeting in Kabwe, that the number is too low and urged stakeholders to hasten the process.

“We been told that we will receive normal to above-normal rainfall, so we need to plant early to have a good yield,” he said.

 Mr Nkulukusa observed that the country experienced a severe drought in the last farming season which left devastating effects on the national food security hence the need to leverage on the seasonal forecast.

He also warned farmers against selling the subsidized inputs stating that the move will compromise food security which the government seeks to attain.

The Central Province Minister encouraged farmers to take advantage of the favorable rainfall forecast to plant their crops as a way to revive the country from the effects of the drought.

He assured the farmers of government support during the farming season.

And in a separate interview, Provincial Agriculture Coordinator (PACO) Etambuyu Anamela said 123,916 have been given authority to deposit monies to access the inputs.

“Of these, 109,646 have deposited while 77,186 have accessed the inputs,” she said.

Ms Anamela said that mobile network connectivity has been a challenge especially in underserviced areas where farmers have difficulties to register to access the inputs.

She advised the farmers to quickly access the inputs to avoid long queues when the rains intensify as they begin to plant for the season.