1, 000 Chisamba farmers in 25pc debt relief
ONE Acre Fund has announced drought relief package of 25 percent of debt forgiveness for more than 1000 farmers in Chisamba District of Central Province who benefited from the Farmer Input Support Programme ( FISP) in the previous farming season.
This followed the devastating drought which was declared a national disaster by President Hakainde Hichilema where the head of state called for a relief for farmers who were negatively affected by the vice.
Announcing the development in Chisamba yesterday, One Acre Fund Field Execution and Impact lead Isabel Phiri said the organisation was moved on the number of farmers who contracted the loans and found it difficult to pay back after the devastation of the drought.
Ms Phiri further said farmers during the next farming season would enjoy subsidised farming input where farmers who were already on the programme would enjoy subsidy of K500 while new farmers would enjoy K200 as their subsidies.
She noted that these were some of the efforts to mitigate the burden of farmers in the district who were affected by the drought.
And District Agriculture Coordinator ( DACO) Belvin Muntanga commended One Acre Fund for such initiative which he said would go a long to alliviate the challenges that farmers had been going through due to the recent climatic changes that had led to the drought situation in some parts of the country.
At the same function, Chief Chamuka of the Lenje speaking people of Central Province gave a seven days ultimatum to the Food Reserve Agency ( FRA) to resolve the challenges in buying FRA maize for relief.