Stop experimenting with Agriculture with ‘your so-called’ soft loans, Saboi urges UPND adm
National Democratic Congress leader Saboi Imboela has said that phasing out the Farmer Input Support Programme will be retrogressive.
In interview, Imboela said that the decision by the UPND government to phase out the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) would kill the agriculture sector.
She noted that small holder farmers, especially in rural areas, have been finding it difficult to access farming inputs using the electronic voucher system and the conversion way of distributing fertilizer and seed, saying the introduction of soft loans for small scale farmers will just disadvantage rural farmers.
“Small scale farmers have been facing difficulties accessing farming inputs using the methods they have been using, including the E-voucher system,” Imboela said. “So you don’t expect them to improve the system by introducing the so called soft loans for small scale farmers. These soft loans that they are talking about will just disadvantage farmers in rural areas and, eventually, kill the agriculture sector. This should not even be encouraged.”
Imboela said that the loan component under the Constituency Development Fund is failing and wondered how “the soft loans” for small holder farmers will succeed.
“We should not be experimenting with a sector, such as agriculture, which plays a pivotal role… http://dailyrevelationzambia.com/stop-experimenting-with-agriculture-with-your-so-called-soft-loans-saboi-urges-upnd-adm/