Farmers in Nakonde District in Muchinga Province have commended the government for introducing the Sustainable Agricultural Financing Facility (SAFF) Initiative.

 A farmer of Chilolwa Village, Arnold Sintufya says the programme will enable farmers to boost their agricultural production.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Nakonde today, Mr. Sintufya added that the initiative will generally improve the livelihood of farmers in the district.

“We are very happy with the SAFF programme. It is going to help us access financing at a lower interest rate, which will enable us to expand our farming activities and increase our yields,” he said.

He, however, advised government to begin the process and expedite operations promptly to allow farmers to plan properly.

“We are really emphasizing to the government to help us to start in time so that we grow big fields and we will be ready to pay back these loans because when we start farming in good time our yields will be very good,” Mr Sintufya said.

Meanwhile, Nakonde District Agricultural Coordinator, Lameck Chola, disclosed that a selected number of farmers who qualified for SAFF loan have already started receiving their loans.

Mr Chola stated that the loans are being disbursed through various banks including Zambia National Commercial (ZANACO), National Savings and Credit (NATSAVE) and Indo Bank.

 He further clarified that only applicants who meet the SAFF requirements are eligible to access the loan after assessment.