OVER 100,000 FARMERS LEFT OUT OF FISP FOR 2022/2023 FARMING SEASON
By Michael Kaluba/Prudence Siabana
The National Union Of Small Scale Farmers In Zambia-NUSFAZ- has disclosed that over 100,000 farmers have been left out of the government sponsored Farmer Input Support Program-FISP- for the upcoming 2022/2023 farming season.
NUSFAZ Executive Director Ebony Lolozhi says his union has since begun engaging the government through the ministry of agriculture, to see a way forward regarding the affected small scale farmers.
And Mr. Lolozhi has warned that failure by government to begin to adequately finance climate change interventions through the national budget and create capacity for farmer’s resilience against climate change as well as fund research and extension services, disasters will continue to threaten Zambia’s food security.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Mtolo Phiri has disclosed that government has in an effort to avoid fertilizer supply companies from failing to deliver on their contracts, not awarded any company a tender to supply more than 100,000 metric tonnes of the commodity.
Mr. Phiri tells Phoenix News that during the last farming season, some fertilizer suppliers failed to supply over 100 000 metric tonnes of fertilizer and that one of them still has a balance of about 17,000 metric tonnes of the input.
PHOENIX NEWS