Kapiri Mposhi district in Central province is expected to produce over two million by 50 Kg bags of white maize in the 2011-2012 farming season.According to the Crop Data Collection conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) the forecasted maize yield this year is less than that recorded last season which stood at 2. 6 million by 50Kg bags for the district.
District Agriculture Coordinator (DACO), Born Tembo said the reduction in the maize yield this year is attributed to the partial drought that some areas in the district experienced during the season.During the District Coordination Committee (DDCC) meeting, Mr. Tembo also said the shortage of farming inputs under the Fertilizer Input Support Program (FISP) in the district also contributed to the decreased maize production this year.
He said the district had a shortage of 622 by 10 Kg bags of maize seed and 694 by 50Kg bags of fertilizer leading to some small scale farmers out of the total of 32,200 registered farmers to benefit from FISP in the district not receiving the inputs at all while others received the inputs late.
“This season we expect a reduced maize yield in the district because of the drought that was experienced and delays in distribution of fertilizers and seed to some small scale farmers,” Mr. Tembo said.
He appealed to government to increase on the input allocation for the district saying his office has this year registered 57,000 small scale farmers as direct beneficiaries from FISP in the 2012-2013 farming season.And Mr. Tembo has revealed that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) bought over 1. 3 million by 50Kg bags of maize valued at over K8.4 billion from small scale farmers in the district in the 2011-2012 crop marketing season. He said Kapiri Mposhi District Cooperative Union (KDCU) and the Central Province Cooperative Union (CPCU) bought and collected the maize on behalf of the FRA from outlying areas in the district.
Mr. Tembo however noted that most maize bought by the FRA and stored in various depots in the district went to waste as a result of poor storage as most of it was soaked by rains.
“The FRA bought 1,303,766 bags of maize worth K8, 4744,790,000 in the district but some of this maize was destroyed as a result of poor storage”, Mr. Tembo said.
He noted that use of ordinary bags by the farmers and delay in release of Tarpolins by the FRA exposed the maize to damage.
Mr Tembo said the maize which was destroyed is since being collected from various depots and disposed of by a team comprising officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and environmental health experts.Mr. Tembo appealed to FRA to ensure that all logistics crucial to
securing of maize such as tarpolins and recommended bags are in place in order to prevent loss of maize in the fourth coming maize marketing
season.
It’s tarpaulins, not tarpolins
Start doing goats, start doing goats………….Ukwa already said how simple it is to market them. Kill, send to Saudi Arabia, simple!
The catalogue of failure is jaw dropping in this article. An improvement in how we manage things can save us a lot of money and crops. We have no control over nature – drought. But we have wasted so much of what escaped teh drought.
1. Fertilizer distribution – not good enough
2. Seeds distribution – poor
3. storage of harvested maize – poor
Hopefully we will have a better report next year this time.
Ukadula unga, wina azalila.
I thought 2.6 million is over 2 million!
to much fertilizer/maize thefts in kapiri-mposhi ….. mwanya MMD yamene inamipusikani inafa
The rainfall patern was nt conducive for bumpa harvest mwe bantu
When are we going to improve mwe bantu? Even in the 1970 and1980 the same problem of maize destroyed by rains. Please don’t create hunger for nothing.