. Simuusa

By JAMES KUNDA? –
GOVERNMENT has already embarked on preparatory measures to ensure that the e-Voucher system is successfully implemented next year.
The e-Voucher system provided farmers more flexibility of choice in the inputs that they receive and in the 2015 National Budget, K254.9million had been allocated, an announced by Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda last week.
Agriculture and Livestock Minister Wylbur Simuusa said in an interview in Lusaka that the e-Voucher, which had not succeeded in the last two farming years, would now be implemented under a pilot project in selected agriculture-intensive districts.
Mr Simuusa said despite the challenges connected to its implementation, the e-Voucher system was an integral part of the farming system in Zambia particularly that it allowed the participation of more farmers in crop production.
“The main challenge in implementing the e-Voucher over the last two years has been connectivity between the input suppliers and receivers but ahead of the next farming season, strategies are already being implemented to ensure that it works,” he said.
He said the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had surpassed the one million mark in maize purchase tonnage from small-scale farmers after the closure of the 2014 crop marketing season.
“FRA went beyond the targeted 500,000 tonnes mark and looking at the current indicators, purchases went above the one million tonne mark.
Beyond the strategic reserves, some of the maize will be offloaded onto the market,” he said.
Mr Simuusa said Government had made progress towards accessing funds to offset the K1 billion debt that FRA owed farmers who supplied maize in this year’s crop marketing season ended October 7, 2014.