The Consumer Unity Trust Society – CUTS review has indicated that despite many stakeholders and beneficiaries of the Farmer Input Support Programme – FISP having begun receiving inputs in most parts of the country, many farmers are still experiencing accessibility challenges.
A review by Ishmael Zulu, Programmes Officer at the Consumer Unity for Trust Society – CUTS indicates that most farmers in the Direct Input Supply – DIS have already received inputs but those under the e-voucher system have been experiencing challenges in accessing inputs such as fertilizer.
Despite the Agriculture Minister Micheal Katambo having on January 5th 2020, explained that government has finished distributing both seed and fertilizer in Luapula province which is under DIS, most people are aware, the main challenge in the accessibility of inputs is under the e-voucher.
The challenge is the late payment from government to agro-dealers who are then withholding further release of farming inputs. Government arrears to agro-dealers stand at K374 million and this has adversely affected the capacity of many agro-dealerships to stock inputs to sell to farmers in the current farming season.
And in a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on January 13, 2019 by CUTS Public Relations Officer Njavwa Simukoko, the society’s results from monitoring visits to the various e-voucher districts indicate that only a few agro-dealerships that had submitted their invoices to government for payments early in the first week of November had received their money while the majority had not received any funds hence were unable to restock inputs such as fertilizer to provide to farmers on e-Voucher.
“Some farmers have to travel long distances to get to the agro-dealers and as a result of the payment delays, are being forced to spend nights in corridors at agro-dealers, in the hopes of accessing inputs in the days to come,” Ishmael told ZBT.
He added that the delay in processing payments on governments ends has resulted in many farmers being stranded and the delayed payments to agro-dealers is also threatening the credibility of the e-voucher programme which many stakeholders have acknowledged is better than the DIS as it promotes diversity, creates jobs and saves money for the government.
