SMALL-SCALE FARMERS TO BE COMPENSATE

GOVERNMENT has disclosed its intentions to compensate some small scale farmers who lost their maize crops due to wilting following last year’s and January 2018 dry spell experienced in Monze district in Southern Province.

Monze district agriculture coordinator (DACO), Justine Ngosa, said farmers in about five agriculture camps to be identified using satellite imagery, would be compensated by a named insurance company that has been engaged by government.

Mr. Ngosa said the electronic voucher system (E-Voucher) has a component of compensation to farmers in an event of non- human induced factors such as bad weather conditions affecting their crops.

“As you might be aware the evoucher system has a component of compensation to farmers in an event of floods or prolonged dry spell and so Government has since engaged an insurance company to compensate farmers in about five agriculture camps in the district whose crops were lost due to wilting," said Mr. Ngosa.

The DACO explained that the initial crops assessment survey indicated that many crops including maize were devastated by the prolonged dry spell which badly stressed the crops leading to wilting and making it impossible for the crops to recover even after the rains resumed.

He explained that about 60 per cent of households especially in the eastern part of the district would face challenges of food this year.

M. Ngosa added that the damage to crops in Western part of the District was not severe owing to good moisture retention properties of the soil.

And Monze district commissioner (DC), Cyprian Hamanyanga, has assured people of Monze that government would provide relief food to all households that would face hunger following poor crop performance caused by drought experienced in the district and the rest of the province.

Mr. Hamanyanga said government would not allow anyone to starve to death on account of the expected poor maize crop harvests.

"I want to assure residents that government would provide relief food to all households that would face hunger due to poor maize crop performance. We will not allow anyone to starve to death on account of the expected poor maize crop harvests," he said.