By Daily Revelation Reporter
Eastern Province provincial agricultural coordinator Adreen Nansungwe says the distribution of farming inputs was a process, which the government already started months ago.
And Agriculture permanent secretary Green Mbozi said the fertilizer and other inputs were already in the provinces, saying the coordinators were the best people to explain the distribution and would not speak on their behalf.
Reacting to the paramount chief of the Ngoni people of Eastern Province, Mpezeni’s remarks to Daily Revelation that people have not started receiving fertilizer in cooperatives, Nansungwe said the inputs were being distributed, and wondered which specific people had not received them.
Asked if she was implying that the chief was lying, Nansungwe said: “I don’t want to tell the chief that he was lying, kutimwaleka bantamfya muchalo ba chief (you might cause me to be chased from his land). What I am saying is we are distributing inputs.”
She said the distribution was actually launched from Chipata where the paramount chief lives.
The Mpezeni said the fertilizer only reached the boma but has not been distributed to the cooperatives.
But Nansungwe said for Chipata alone, 671 metric tonnes of the commodity had already been redeemed as of November 07, 2023, and that farmers were getting fertilizer in all the districts.
But asked about the fact that the distribution was still ongoing well into November, Nansungwe said the distribution started in October and that it was not even raining in that area.
She said the exercise was a process, and that they could not call everybody at once but were going camp to camp.
“And you know FISP, the way it is we can receive inputs early but you have to wait for seed to be harvest, dried, pested and everything. And you can’t be giving farmers in piecemeal,” said Nansungwe.
When contacted earlier, PS Mbozi referred all the queries to Nansungwe to respond to the remarks by the paramount chief.
“All the fertilizers are in the provinces, all the seeds are in the province. They should tell you why they have not started distributing. So I will not be in a position to start speaking on their behalf,” said Mbozi. “I think let’s not look at the blame, let’s look at the principle. You have said distribution has not started, (but) what I am telling you is we have sent the fertilizers and seed to each province and all the other provinces are distributing. So I want you to call the provincial agriculture coordinator to find out what are the challenges on the ground.”
He said there was no delay because farmers were collecting inputs.
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