PATRICK SOKO
Lumezi
LUMEZI District Commissioner (DC) Patrick Mtonga says 1,000 households have been earmarked to receive farming inputs under this year’s Food Security Pack (FSP) wetland cropping programme.
The program will see 500 beneficiaries receive five kilogrammes (kg) of maize seed, one 50-kg bag each of urea and D Compound fertiliser and one bag of lime.
Mr Mtonga said that the remaining 500 beneficiaries will receive vegetable seeds, including cabbage, rape and tomato, two bags of fertiliser, one bag of lime, as well as chemicals for the control of pests and diseases.
Speaking during the flagging-off ceremony, Mr Mtonga said the initiative demonstrates the Government’s commitment to improving the livelihoods of vulnerable households and strengthening food security.
He said the programme, being implemented by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, is part of the Government’s broader social protection interventions aimed at reducing household vulnerability and the high cost of living.
“Your Government and President Hakainde Hichilema care for you. That is why we are providing these farming inputs so that you can improve your livelihoods and contribute to national food security,” he said.
Mr Mtonga urged beneficiaries to use the inputs for their intended purpose and cautioned them against selling them.
Lumezi district community development officer David Chirwa said the FSP wetland cropping programme is designed to empower poor and vulnerable but viable farming households with agricultural inputs to engage in dry-season farming.
He encouraged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the programme to increase food production, improve household nutrition and generate income.
Mr Chirwa said the programme will help beneficiaries enhance household food security, improve nutrition and increase household income.
He reminded beneficiaries that the FSP wetland cropping programme operates on a 10 percent conditional recovery system, where beneficiaries contribute 10 percent of their harvest for reinvestment in community assets and sustainable local development projects.
