No extension for distribution of inputs - State

THE distribution of farming inputs will not be extended once it ends at the of this month, Ministry of Agriculture, Farmers Input Support Programme National Coordinator Grey Mwale has said. Mr Mwale said the ministry would ensure that all needy areas received the farming inputs before the end of this month. He said in an interview recently that the ministry was working tirelessly to ensure that all provinces received the inputs on time. Mr Mwale said the government wanted to ensure farmers received farming inputs on time to enable them prepare adequately for the 2019/2020 farming season. Mr Mwale said it was the ministry’s view that the distribution of the farming inputs did not go beyond this month to avoid inconveniencing farmers. He observed that the distribution exercise was initially supposed to come to an end last month but was extended because some farmers had not made their deposits yet. “But because we heard the cries of farmers we decided to extend op to the end of this month. “And what we have decided is that once the distribution exercise come to an end by the end of this month we shall not extend it so that farmers can be given ample time to prepare,” Mr Mwale said. Mr Mwale was confident that companies engaged to provide the farming inputs would cover the intended target before the end of this year. He said all companies like Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia were on course to reach the target. And Mr Mwale said FISP would be a success this time around as the government had sealed loopholes that negatively affected the implementation.