Over K1bn set for e-voucher farmers

MORE than one billion Kwacha will be released for the farmer input support programme (FISP) through the e-voucher system before the end of this month, Agriculture Minister, Dora Siliya revealed.

Ms Siliya said yesterday in Petauke that by the end of November government would have released K1.7 billion to pay farmers under the e-voucher system.

The minister said farmers would have to contribute K400 each for them to access inputs from agro dealers and advised them to make good use of the support from government.

Earlier, Ms Siliya said education was an equaliser for both girls and boys in every society.

Speaking during the handover ceremony of Simambumbu Primary School in Petauke District, Ms Siliya said President Edgar Lungu had asked her to officiate at the opening of the school whose construction cost K500,000.

She said the primary school had only 40 pupils but will start enrolling grade ones by next year.

She said over 76,000 children were enrolled in schools and 40,000 were girls who would drop out by the time they reached Grade 12 because of early marriages and pregnancies.

Ms Siliya advised parents to value education so that the purpose of the newly opened school would not be defeated.

She said government was aware of the challenges on the ground such as lack of electricity and tape water.

The minister noted that government will work with the Eastern Water and Sewerage Company to install water pipes at the school.

She stated that the school would also be electrified because government had introduced the facility in schools which needed electricity to be effective and serve the children well.

"Apart from water and electricity, the other major challenge is that the school only has three teachers and the teacher to pupil ratio is really low because you will find that one teacher has a number of 66 children.

“These teachers if recruited however, will need houses since the school consists of two blocks with six classrooms in total,” she said. She said the land where the school was constructed was 5 hectares and had enough room for expansion for a technical secondary school.

She added that the school cost over K500, 000 and NAPSA contributed K25, 000 to construct VIP toilets at the school.