Government will procure Urea fertiliser under Fertiliser Input Support Programme (FISP) from Saudi Arabia because it is cheaper than local markets, Agriculture and Livestock Deputy Minister Luckson Kazabu has said.
Mr Kazabu said Government had identified Saudi Arabia as one of the cheapest source for Fertiliser procurement.
He urged farmers not to panic as the top dressing fertiliser would be distributed to all the farmers under FISP before the end of December.
Mr Kazabu said Government was making headways to ensure farming input were distributed to farmers by the end of December this year.
“This year, Government will procure Urea fertiliser for FISP from Saudi Arabia because it is cheaper compared to the price on the local markets. The farmers will have the commodity by end of December,” he said.
Mr Kazabu said Government would ensure that the farming input was delivered to farmers at the rightful time to enable them plan and prepare for the 2013/2014 farming season.
He was confident that the commodity would arrive in Zambia soon adding that Government’s desire was to ensure that there was adequate supply of farming inputs.
He also said the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) would produce extra Basal dressing fertiliser for the 10 districts that were initially earmarked for the E-voucher pilot project.
“This means that Government will this farming season not implement the E-voucher system as it is still working on modalities to further improve the system,” he said
NCZ has so far produced more than 75,000 metric tonnes of D-compound fertiliser to be distributed under FISP for the 2013/2014 farming season.
“As Government we have told NCZ to produce more basal dressing fertiliser which will carter for the 10 districts which initially were earmarked for the E-voucher pilot project, this means that these districts will receive their farming inputs for 2013/2014 farming season normally under FISP, ” he said.
Some of the 10 districts are Mazabuka, Monze, Choma, Kalomo, Chibombo, Kapiri and Ndola among others.
Therein lies the problem. In Japan people buy Japanese rice which is twice as expensive as the imported one. The reason Japanese do this is to protect their industry and jobs with the hope that production costs will eventually come down. The difference here is the Japanese think better than we do
The minister has said they will buy what ever NCZ produces meaning NCZ cannot fulfil the market demand. I think what he meant was buying from importers who are more expensive.
excellent analysis
yes bigj i agree with you.
especially these Indians dealing in farming inputs are damn expensive.
by the way, where do they get their inputs like D compound from?
definitely not from our ncz….
Exactly what I wanted to say. This is what most forward thinking governments do. Initial high costs of production are over set with time by the increased production as the cost per unit decreases. Some policies should be deliberate so as to nurture local industry. Wonder what PF policy on Agriculture and local industry as a whole is?
NCZ produces nothing don’t cheat yourselves thinking they are producing anything.It is a white elephant that needs a complete overhaul of the equipment.
am when this will take place because if this is September and the government is now deciding to buy … unless the PF comes with a Big ship of its own this fertilizer wont be coming here on time.
As long as we continue to have a stronger govt hand in the agricultural sector the sector will continue with its chaos. We should try to think outside the box, opening up the sector to our free market economy where farmers procure their own fertiliser where ever they can and sell their produce to anyone and anywhere they can. Yes, there will be casualties as some will not afford but such is natural selection. This way we shall be able to expand the sector and make it competive and profitable. Having been a farmer I know what it takes to produce crops but because of the noose created by government for its fears, farmers are more likely to make loses than profits, they usually lose money.
The reason why this man has come out in open is because he is scared of single sourcing.All the same,i smell a rat.Olden days are gone,think before you puke.
this man lacks basic understanding of importing,he is dull for a minister.he is assuring people of december,we are already in september and they have not even sourced yet.even if they procure today,with all transport logistics involved does he thing this fertiliser will be in zambia any time near december?
does he understand the challenges tazara faces or even the delays at the port of dar es salaam.
somebody,please advise him to stop politicking
hahahhahah…… cheaper than the local market!! did find out makes cheaper than the local market????!!
Africans will always be poor because they cant think!!
@ Ndobo,
It’s KILL the farmer!
@cindy
just imagine cindy, we have alots of educated people in zambia with alot of fimo fimo degrees and papers!! yet nobody can come up with a cheaper manufacturing solutions on the ground….. imagine south african economy today is being driven by zambian skills, yet zambia remains a dead country
I bet you this Saudi arabia proposed deal, people are lining up their pockets for kick backs and corruption!! greedy, poverty, corruption and closed up thinking is killing zambia!!!!
These politicians are so dull. If you know what makes our locally produced ferts whey not resolve that problem and keep our dollars to create jobs for thousands of Zambians without jobs. Its better to buy the expensive from within in order to keep my uncles and nephew in employment that to buy from Saudi in order to employ an Arab. I can assure you, a thousand Arabs would get employed because of this deal while our youths remain crying for jobs.
E-Voucher, E-Voucher to be piloted in 10 districts this year………, now it has already failed before it is even implemented. Trying to change things that do not need changing for the sake of finding something to politic will not take us anywhere. Get the original idea from the owners and bost agriculture in the country, ba PF!
IT REALLY BREAKS MY HEART AT THE REASONING OF MAJORITY OF OUR MINISTERS IN THIS PF GOVERNMENT. YOU WANT TO KILL YOUR OWN FUNDED INDUSTRY BY BUYING CHEAP STUFF FROM ELSE WHERE? LIKE OBATALA@1 SAYS; JAPANESE CONSUME THEIR MORE EXPENSIVE BUT HOME GROWN RICE TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT THEIR INDUSTRY. WE SHOULD HAVE A PROUDLY ZAMBIAN CAMPAIGN TO SENSITISE OUR PEOPLE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMING OUR LOCALLY MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS DESPITE BEING MORE EXPENSIVE. WE WILL GROW OUR INDUSTRIES, EMPLOY MORE PEOPLE, INVEST INTO RESEARCH AND ONE DAY WE WILL GET IT RIGHT AND OUR PRODUCTS WILL BE COMPETITIVE IN PRICE AND QUALITY. TIME TO GET THINKING PEOPLE INTO GOVERNMENT, NOT KAPONYAS
typing in caps lock make you look stupid.
unlock those keys please.
It’s the same lunatic kind of logic they use when they tell millions of customers lining up to pay cash for electricity to stop using too much power (load-shedding). The obvious thing to do would be to increase power output and generate even more money from willing customers. The same story applies to NCZ. The agricultural sector is ever expanding but there’s only one company, with limited capacity, producing fertilizer since 1964! Since they they can’t tell farmers not to use too much fertilizer, they have to source from overseas, instead of expanding manufacturing capacity. This is insane.
Paya Fama . . .they have no interest in farming but in stealing these thieves . . . . thus y u lost miserably in Chipata and Katete. even illiterate nyau dancing villagers can no longer buy your stupid reasoning. PFools think the rains will wait for their stupid egos. Wake up from your deed sleep and open your eyes and use your God given brains to think . . . .
Don’t panic…… the urea will be here by the end of DECEMBER?
Sure? Don’t panic? That sounds more like a reason TO panic! I guess we must now pray for late rains to suit the government?
Never mind that some rural roads will be impassable by then or the extra cost and money out of poor farmers’ pockets to make two trips to collect inputs (and to camp at the boma over Christmas waiting!) than if government delivered everything at once. What savings is that?
Paya Fama . . .they have no interest in farming but in stealing these thieves . . . . thus y u lost miserably in Chipata and Katete. even illiterate nyau dancing villagers can no longer buy your stu.pid reasoning. PFo.ols think the rains will wait for their stupid egos. Wake up from your deed sleep and open your eyes and use your God given brains to think . . . .
A group of none farming individuals trying to formulate an agricultural policy that they have no clue about it’s life cycle.
These chaps!! So what his Senior Minister,Bob Sichinga has been saying about fertilizer reaching farmers in good time and ensuring that NCZ plays a meaningful role in the revival of the agriculture sector is just a hoax!! We thought these guys were interested in making NCZ more viable by giving it more business now they busy running away to Saudi Arabia. Let us hope there are no dubious supply contracts involved!!
I thought our interest is creating jobs for the youth, therefore we can afford to spent more on fertiliser as long as the jobs are created and maintained.
Lack of knowledge is very dangerous. This Kazabu fellow is some Council guy now turned Politician right? It appears he has no clue about the business of importing ferts. Ship will take 2 months to dock at Dar, Beira or Durban ie arround End of Nov. Fertiliser importers will make sure they sabotage Gvt intentions and also import in bulk. They will make sure they use the port Gvt is gonna use to delay the offloading process. Offloading will take another month, that will be say in December. Then these ferts have to be transported by roard not by the unreliable Tazara. To transport 40,000 tons of ferts you need 1300 Trucks! Then ferts have to distributed to the 10 Provinces. I think Nyiombo are laughing!!!
kazabu is not a council guy. he just served as a mayor of kitwe while employed as a manager of fimo fimo with copperbelt bottling co.
So from bottling company to Agriculture?????no wonder
PF (Paya Farmer) are really living up to their name. There is a general belief in PF that whatever the minister or president makes a pronouncement on will happen as planned. They have no clue about the logistical aspects of importation and distribution.
I am advising fellow peasant farmers and all gardeners ( small scale) to stock pile manure.
Is dullness a qualification to be a minister in PF?
it looks like so
Sooooo ironic to called “Patriotic” then you import products that can be sourced within. PaYa Farmer!!!!!
1. MMD printed 3 trillion kwacha – Bob Sichinga
2. Removal of fuel subsidy will only affect those who drive – Kabwili
3. Gabon National Disaster Stadium – Entire Cabinet
4. ….. the list goes on
the common denominator is dullness
Mr. Kazabu to deliver urea fertilizer to the farmers in December will be suicidal. Deliver all inputs by end of October and let the farmer be in control of these inputs. You should actually be fired for gross incompetence.
so by the time this fertiliser will be distributed country wide and reach the final farmer in each province it will be February ( hub and spoke concept) .
the concept of hub and concept will not be in favour because the final consumer will get his fertiliser in February 2014