By MOSES NYATI
Agriculture plays a pivotal role in fostering Zambia’s socio-economic development. Due to its significant socio-economic importance, the sector offers a robust pathway for fostering Zambia’s rural development and the envisioned diversified and inclusive national socioeconomic transformation.
To ensure the sector contributes to the social-economic development of the country, government through the Ministry of Agriculture will this year continue to implement the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and Sustainable Agricultural Finance Facility (SAFF).
Chief Agricultural Economist Nicholas Mainza disclosed that government has commenced the migration of districts from Direct Input Supply (DIS) to the Electronic-voucher modality so as to enhance efficiency in the distribution of inputs.
Speaking during the FISP-SAFF sensitization meeting held in Kabwe for staff in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Mainza said the migration from DIS to E-voucher modality is aimed at enhancing access to agricultural inputs by small-scale farmers at an affordable cost and increase the participation and competiveness of the private sector in the supply and distribution of agricultural inputs.
“To actualize the migration, government has this year increased the number of districts that will use the E-voucher modalities from 17 last year to 74 during the 2024/25 farming season,” Dr. Mainza said.
He reiterated that the E-voucher system is a game changer as it will enhance private sector participation and contribute to job creation and that all districts in Central province were under E-voucher modality.
“In an effort to boost both production and productivity of maize, soya beans and wheat to meet government deliverables highlighted in the Comprehensive Agricultural Transformation Support Programme (CATSP) and Dakar II commitments, government will continue to implement the Sustainable Agriculture Finance Facility (SAFF),” Dr Mainza disclosed.
He said the SAFF programme this farming season targets to benefit 40,000 small and medium scale farmers in all the 116 districts of the country and that the maximum loan a farmer can qualify for has been adjusted upwards from K70,000 last year to K500,000 this year at an interest rate of 12 per cent.
Dr Mainza was also quick to state that the credit window facility has been enhanced to include several components for farmers to choose from among them being seasonal crop financing, irrigation, mechanization or farm power, livestock with focus on small ruminants, poultry, dairy and beef animals and aquaculture or fisheries.
And Central Province Agricultural Coordinator Etambuyu Anamela has called on officers in the Ministry charged with the responsibility of implementing both FISP and SAFF programmes to diligently execute their duties for the country to be food secure.
The 2024/2025 FISP programme is targeting to benefit 738,266 farmers through the E-voucher system representing 72.2 percent compared to last year where only 473,247 farmers benefited through E-voucher from the total FISP beneficiary of 1,024,434. –NAIS
