The Agriculture Department in Kalomo says it has estimated close to a 50 per cent of crop failure caused by climatic variances that characterized most parts of the district during the last farming season.
District agriculture coordinator, Max Choombe says that a crop focus data collection has revealed that hunger is looming in the area after most farming blocks experienced dry spells and excess rains causing leeching.
The District agriculture coordinator said this an interview in Kalomo District, today.
And Dr. Choombe said his department is in full gear to ensure that the e- voucher system being piloted in ten districts country-wide with four in Southern province for acquiring this season’s farming agro inputs succeeds.
He added that the registration of farmers was on going with agro dealers being identified to even cater for rural areas. In Southern Province the pilot project is being tried in Choma, Monze , Mazabuka and Kalomo Districts , respectively.
Government through its agro subsidized farmer input support programme (FISP) is to pilot the e- voucher system to would be farmer beneficiaries unlike in the past where the farming community had to get their inputs through cooperative societies.
An e-voucher is an electronic kind of a cheque, which allows the bona-fide holder of it to get agro inputs from any engaged dealer under FISP at his or her own convenient time.
Meanwhile, calls for mitigation measures against the impending food insecurity among many households in both Kalomo and Zimba districts respectively have so far been brought to the attention of the district administration.
Mapatizya Member of Parliament, Clive Miyanda last week appealed to the disaster management and mitigation unit (DMMU) under the office of the President to come to the aid of his constituency which he said was faced with food shortages especially in the lower Zambezi.
Source: ZANIS
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