By PRINCE MABUMBA
The Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has urged Government to expedite distribution of fertiliser to enable farmers adequately prepare for the 2023-2024 agricultural season.
ZNFU Public Relations Manager, Calvin Kaleyi told Millennium TV news in an interview that perennial late distribution of farming inputs was negatively affecting farmers in terms of preparation for the agricultural season.
“First of all, we support the process of ensuring that the procurement processes become flawless. We accept the process of making the procurement processes become without blemish and without corruption and so on.
“What we envisage, what we would like to see is the actualisation of the plans to procure the fertilisers on time. As it is right now this is March, we should be seeing adverts for tenders, people that want to supply fertilisers, the seed and other agriculture chemicals,” Mr Kaleyi said
He advised Government to actualise plans to distribute inputs by June or July this year.
“We would not like to see a situation in which we are in at the moment where fertilisers were being distributed in February and farmers were sharing fertiliser by opening a 50 kilogramme bag and sharing it,” Mr Kaleyi said.
He commended President Hakainde Hichilema for taking bold steps to avoid recurrence of the teething problems that his New Dawn administration encountered in the 2022-2023 farming season.
Mr Kaleyi also said Government should immediately award contracts for the supply of farming inputs instead of waiting for December to select preferred bidders.
