EXPECTATIONS ON AGRICULTURE
By Moombe Hamoboola:
Livingstone District Cooperative Union Chairperson Rwinnick Mapanza has urged the United Party for National Development -UPND- government to immediately look at reducing the price of fertilizer.
Commenting on what he wants to see improved in the agriculture sector under the new government, Mr. Mapanza says the high price of fertilizer has been a major concern for most Small Scale Farmers.
Mr. Mapanza says reducing the cost of fertilizer from over seven hundred kwacha to at least two hundred and fifty kwacha will help reduce the cost of farming in the country.
He has also urged the Hakainde Hichilema led government to work on feeder roads for easy transportation of farming produce.
Mr. Mapanza has further urged the government to also focus on water harvesting projects to enable farmers grow crops throughout the year as opposed to rain-fed agriculture.
He is also appealing for more Food Reserve Agency FRA depots in the district to reduce the cost and distance farmers have to cover to supply maize to the agency.
Mr. Mapanza is optimistic the agricultural sector will tremendously improve considering that Mr. Hichilema is a farmer himself.