Wed, 20 Sep 2017 12:48:40 +0000
By Kalobwe Bwalya
OVER 1,000 farmers are expected to benefit on this year famers input support programme (FISP) from Government, says Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya.
Ms Siliya however expressed concern over some farmers who were not graduating from the program since its inception in 2002, but called on concerted efforts to ensure that farmers graduated so that others benefited from the program.
Ms Siliya said the increase in women being on FISP was due to the introduction of legumes on the programme as well as sensitization programs that were being carried especially in rural areas.
Speaking during the e-voucher breakfast meeting oranised by Oxfam Zambia in Lusaka yesterday, Ms Siliya said however said, the issue of land was quite significant because many women did not have access to land ownership.
She also said financial challenges for women paying for registration of certificate to the registrar of societies was also a burden for women to access Fisp because they lacked financial empowerment.
Ms Siliya said there is a lot that needs to be done in terms of e-voucher and Fisp to ensure that the two programs yielded the good results, unlike same people were benefiting from the program.
She said women needed to have access to water and Land so that they can do more in terms of production, adding that more than 1,000 agro dealers in the country have been working with government since the introduction of e-voucher in 2015.
She said government had made progress in ensuring that more farmers benefited from the program and for it to be more efficient, but she will ensure that no ghost farmers will be entertained. “This year we are going to support 30% must be legumes particularly, beans, Groundnuts among other produce so that we encourage nutrition and avoid the concentration maize seed,” said Ms Siliya.
She said there was need to change the mind of the farmer that farming was business and not consuming, therefore the program is meant to support viable farmers who should graduate after three years.
Ms Siliya said, since 2002 government has supported so many farmers, but none of them were graduating from the program and that should not be the case because they were defeating the many purpose of the program.
