KAWAMBWA DACO ASSURES FARMERS ON SAFF PROGRAMME

OVER 100 small scale farmers in Kawambwa District of Luapula Province have expressed worry over the delayed acquisition of farming inputs under the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (SAFF) programme.

The farmers who applied for the support under the SAFF stormed ZANIS offices complained that the programme has taken long for them to redeem their inputs and yet the planting season is almost coming to an end.

Representing the group, Chrispine Mambwe who is also Mutofwe Village Headman, said some farmers used borrowed resources to buy the seeds they planted and are now worried as their crops and efforts are going to waste for failure to apply the fertiliser.

Mr Mambwe has appealed to government to expedite the process of redeeming the loan inputs in order to salvage their crops from going to waste so that food security at household level is not compromised.

He said the farmers who applied for the farming inputs loan under SAFF were those that have not benefited from the Farmers Input Support Programme and Food Security Pack.

“This government programme of giving farming inputs to farmers on loan under the sustainable agriculture financing facility is a good initiative but unfortunately the process is quite frustrating as we have not been able to redeem the inputs because the system is not activated at the bank and yet the planting season is coming to an end,” Mr Mambwe lamented.

But Kawambwa District Agriculture Coordinator (DACO), Steven Muscoda, has appealed to farmers to exercise some patience as the system was being worked on to enable them redeem their inputs.

Mr Musonda said his office has played its part by approving and submitting the forms to ZANACO bank for all the over 100 applicants who included small scale farmers and civil servants for action.

He said he has been in constant touch with the bank and has been assured that farmers will start redeeming the farming inputs tomorrow Wednesday.

The DACO has, however, said it is upon individual farmers to decide whether to access the inputs now or reserve for next farming season as the optimum time for planting is almost over.