‘Early input distribution good for agro’

THE early flagging off farming input distribution is a sign that Government is committed to promoting agriculture, PF Chibombo district acting Chairperson Remmy Mukosa has said.

In an interview yesterday, Mr Mukosa said that over the years farmers had failed to harvest as expected due to delay in input distribution across the country.

Government, he said, had demonstrated commitment to ensuring enough food for citizens was available and that the plight of small scale farmers was taken care of.

Mr Mukosa stated that now that inputs had been flagged, farmers should start early preparation so that the yield sufficient harvest.

He called on traditional leaders and youths in Central province to venture into farming as a profitable business, especially for youths who were not yet in formal employment.

“We now have the inputs so it is up to us to ensure that we start preparing on time so that we don’t blame Government that they did not give us inputs on time, “he said.

President

Edgar Lungu on Wednesday flagged off the distribution of subsidized farming inputs to smallholder farmers under the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP).

Launching the programme Chisamba district, the President said Government had established a robust data management and monitoring system to ensure that unintended beneficiaries were removed from the programme.

According to him, the distribution of agricultural inputs last year, coupled with improved targeting of FISP beneficiaries and good rainfall resulted in the country recording a bumper harvest for the 2019/2020 farming season.