Government praised for diversifying the economy

Chililabombwe District Commissioner, Roy Ngosa says the Copperbelt has recorded steady progress in diversification from Mining to agriculture, District.

Mr Ngosa says the diversification process has been boosted by the government funded Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) under which 9000 farmers are being supported.

He added that this led to increased maize production putting the district in second position from Mpongwe in maize production in the province.

Speaking in an interview in Chililabombwe today, Mr Ngosa said the district is an example of a successful diversification story as people no longer wholly depend on mining for their livelihood.

“Chililabombwe district is now next to Mpongwe district in maize production and the district keeps increasing the output every year and soon we will be the leading district in agricultural production,” Mr Ngosa said.

And Mr Ngosa said the district has already received a substantial quantity of farming inputs for the 2020/2021 farming season.

He said 4900 by 10kg of maize seed has been received out of the total allocation of 9016 bags.

He added that 10,400 by 50Kg bags of D-Compound fertilizer out of the total district allocation of 36,048 bags have also been received and a further 4800 out of 28,548 bags of Urea fertilizer has been received so far.

The District Commissioner added that other crop seeds such as soya beans and sorghum have also been received while groundnuts seed is yet to be received.

He said the early distribution of the inputs is meant to facilitate another bumper harvest as farmers will have ample time to prepare for the next farming season.

For the second consecutive year, government has managed to distribute farming inputs to farmers on time to enable them prepare adequately and so far these efforts have resulted into bumper harvests.