CHIEF Chipepo of Southern Province has observed that farmers in rural areas record low crop yields due to uncertified seed they purchase from bogus sellers.
And the traditional ruler has called on Government to monitor and regulate maize seed imported into the country.
Speaking in an interview at the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) seed law workshop in Lusaka on Thursday, Chief Chipepo charged that the uncertified maize seed being supplied on the market grows like grass.
The traditional ruler said rural farmers have for a long time been subjected to uncertified seeds which has resulted in their recording of low crop yields.
“Rural areas always face problems when it comes to the issue of seed. Many people come to rural areas to cheat our farmers with all sorts of fake seeds which instead grow like grass,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, Chief Chipepo said the 2013/2014 farming season yield has been poor arising from the poor management of the fertiliser input support programme.
“The FISP programme was poorly handled in my chiefdom and this resulted in low crop yield.
“We have since written to Government complaining about how badly the FISP was managed and they have promised to mitigate the problem,” he said.
He has since urged Government to consider consulting chiefs over the FISP because they are the custodians of the people.
“Chiefs know who real farmers are in any particular area and so it is imperative that we are consulted in the FISP programme,” he said.
And chief Chipepo said farmers in his chiefdom have started selling their maize despite the absence of a new floor price for maize.
Speaking in an interview at the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) seed law workshop in Lusaka on Thursday, Chief Chipepo charged that the uncertified maize seed being supplied on the market grows like grass.
The traditional ruler said rural farmers have for a long time been subjected to uncertified seeds which has resulted in their recording of low crop yields.
“Rural areas always face problems when it comes to the issue of seed. Many people come to rural areas to cheat our farmers with all sorts of fake seeds which instead grow like grass,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, Chief Chipepo said the 2013/2014 farming season yield has been poor arising from the poor management of the fertiliser input support programme.
“The FISP programme was poorly handled in my chiefdom and this resulted in low crop yield.
“We have since written to Government complaining about how badly the FISP was managed and they have promised to mitigate the problem,” he said.
He has since urged Government to consider consulting chiefs over the FISP because they are the custodians of the people.
“Chiefs know who real farmers are in any particular area and so it is imperative that we are consulted in the FISP programme,” he said.
And chief Chipepo said farmers in his chiefdom have started selling their maize despite the absence of a new floor price for maize.
No comments:
Post a Comment