By JULIUS PHIRI –
IRATE farmers on Monday stormed the office of the District Agricultural coordinator in Chipata, demanding for their share of the fertiliser under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
More than 100 farmers from different farming camps around the district complained over the delay in the distribution of fertiliser.
The farmers claimed that they had been spending nights at the sheds for almost two weeks now in order to acquire the inputs.
They wondered why they had not yet been given their allocation when there had been four trucks loaded with fertiliser at the sheds for almost four days now.
They also complained of poor communication between themselves and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock as they were not given a definite date when the fertiliser would be available.
And when addressing the angry farmers, District Agricultural coordinator Michael Ngulube apologised for the delay witnessed in the distribution of the fertiliser.
Mr Ngulube explained that he was aware that some farmers should have applied the top dressing in their fields by now and that it was also his wish to see that farmers received their inputs on time.
He said that Eastern Province Agricultural Office was in charge of giving the go-ahead for the distribution, as the inputs which had been stored in the sheds were not only for farmers in Chipata but for the whole province.
