Daily Nation Newspaper

OVER 28, 500 MONZE FARMERS TO GET INPUTS

- By ANDREW MUKOMA

I wish to advise farmers in Monze that government is spending a lot of money to ensure that the agricultur­e sector remains vibrant and so, it will be retrogress­ive and unwise for beneficiar­ies of the FISP to start selling inputs on the black market — Mr Hamanyanga.

ABOUT

28, 586 small scale farmers in Monze district in Southern Province will benefit from the Fertilizer Input Support Programme (FISP) in the 2018/2019 farming season, Monze District Commission­er Cyprian Hamanyanga has confirmed.

Mr Hamanyanga said the farmers in the district had since started accessing the farming inputs under FISP which was aimed at increasing household and national food security.

He said Government deposited money for activation of the Electronic Vouchers system and that farmers had now started redeeming inputs in preparatio­n for the farming season.

He also said that more than 50 agro dealers in the district had adequate farming inputs such as fertilizer and seeds.

“I can confirm to you that farmers have started accessing farming inputs after Government deposited money for activation of their accounts to enable them redeem their inputs at agro dealers.

“I wish also to state that a total of 28, 586 farmers will benefit under FISP, which is aimed at boosting food security in the country,” Mr Hanyangasa­id.

He urged all farmers under the FISP who have deposited their contributi­ons of K 400 to visit any nearest agro dealer shop to redeem their inputs before the rains intensifie­d.

He also advised the farmers against selling their inputs saying doing so was retrogress­ive to the growth of the agricultur­al sector. “I wish to advise farmers in Monze that government is spending a lot of money to ensure that the agricultur­e sector remains vibrant and so, it will be retrogress­ive and unwise for beneficiar­ies of the FISP to start selling inputs on the black market,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hamanyaga also revealed that about 3,000 farmers who had deposited their contributi­ons in their accounts in the 2015/2016, 2016/2017, and 2017/2018 farming season were yet to receive inputs.

He said Government was looking into the issue to ensure that such irregulari­ties that affected the agricultur­e sector did not re-occur this farming season and in future.

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