SHANGOMBO District Agriculture Coordinator Likonge Kahilu has called on the government to increase the number of beneficiaries on the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) in the district.

Mr Kahilu said the district has about 15,000 farmers and only 200 are benefiting from the programme.

“I would like to call upon the government to consider increasing the number of FISP beneficiaries in Shangombo because 200 is just a small number. We have about 15,000 farmers in the district but only 200 are on the FISP programme,” he said.

Mr Kahilu said the increase will give more farmers access to inputs and produce food amidst the climate change

He said in the past, farmers used to shun away from the programme because of their cultural beliefs that fertiliser damages the soil but the narrative has changed due to extension services and collaboration with Seed Co, establishing of demonstration plots, among other interventions.

“In the past farmers used to shun away from the FISP programme because of their cultural beliefs but now the narrative has changed because of the extension services and collaboration with companies like Seed Co,” Mr Kahilu said.

He added that as the country is going the Electronic -Voucher way, it is therefore imperative to have many farmers on the programme because E-voucher will give farmers broader choices of inputs like implements, hybrid seeds, ploughs, chemicals and drugs for livestock, among other things.

Mr Kahilu said if the number was increased a lot of farmers would come on board and participate because they have already shown interest in the programme.