President Edgar Lungu says the country has recorded a bumper harvest due to early delivery of Farming inputs.
President Edgar Lungu observes that the country has been able to record a bumper harvest due to the early distribution of farming inputs in the 2019/2020 farming season, coupled with renewed confidence to grow maize.

Speaking in Chisamba when he flagged off the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) implementation for the 2020/2021 agricultural season, President Lungu said challenges of late delivery of inputs have adequately been addressed and that this will now be a thing of the past.
He stated that the FISP was designed to enable beneficiary small scale farmers have access to affordable agricultural inputs without any delays, despite the program of having faced a number of challenges that have hindered the full attainment of its intended objectives.

“The early distribution of agricultural inputs last year, coupled with improved targeting of FISP beneficiaries, good rainfall, and renewed confidence to grow maize, resulted in the country recording a bumper harvest for the 2019/2020 farming season.”

The Head of State added that government has continued to put in place stringent measures aimed at ensuring that unintended beneficiaries are removed from the programme so as to achieve more positive results in the sector.

“To achieve more positive results in this sector, the PF government has continued to put in place stringent measures aimed at ensuring that unintended beneficiaries are removed from the FISP programme.”

“This is being realized through strict monitoring and a robust data management system devised by Smart Zambia Institute,” President Lungu said.

He appealed to all small-scale farmers to be alert and report any suspicious activities stating that all inputs under the FISP programme are designed for the intended beneficiary farmers.

And President Lungu said despite border restrictions due to Covid-19, the country is very secure with agricultural inputs.

He stated that early importation and distribution of agricultural inputs is one of the strategies to ensure national food security, because national food security is one of government’s top priorities.

“In view of the many challenges we are facing today, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, my government’s focus is securing enough food for the Zambian people. National food security is one of my government’s top priorities. Therefore, early importation and early distribution of agricultural inputs is one of the strategies to ensure national food security.”

“As we stand now, and despite border restrictions due to Covid 19, the country is very secure with agricultural inputs hence we are assured of farming this coming agricultural season,” he added.

He further disclosed government is taking advantage of the bumper harvest by adequately funding the food reserve agency for them to buy enough maize for the national strategic reserve.

The Head of Stated said the food reserve agency marketing programme and the FISP programme are very important government programmes, hence the need for the Ministry of Agriculture to find a way of ensuring that FISP beneficiaries are linked to the FRA maize buying programme so that the government subsidized maize can start playing a big role in maintaining the national strategic food reserve.

Meanwhile, encouraged millers and grain traders who have invested their own resources to buy maize and other products from small scale farmers to continue doing so, further warning those who are not buying the commodity but are waiting to pounce on the country’s reserves.

“Let me say that I am also aware of some millers who are not buying maize and are just waiting for an opportune time to pounce on the food reserve agency strategic reserves.”

I must make it crystal clear that my government will not work with millers who, deliberately, manipulate government so that they can have access to maize from the national strategic reserve. Hear me clearly, it is a promise if you like it, and it is a warning if you do not like it,” he said.