NATASHA MUKUKA
Lavushimanda
FARMERS in Lavushimanda District have started redeeming their inputs under the 2026/2027 Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
Speaking in an interview, Lavushimanda district assistant agricultural marketing development officer Eugene Kabundula said that 732 farmers have successfully redeemed their inputs using the e-voucher system.
Mr Kabundula said a total of 2,231 farmers have so far received e-voucher codes out of 3,930 FISP beneficiaries in the district.
He said the farmers who have received the codes are those who have fulfilled the bonding requirement, which requires beneficiaries to supply 10 50-kilogramme (kg) bags of maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
Mr Kabundula said farmers on the FISP beneficiary list are automatically issued with e-voucher codes for input redemption once they supply the required quantity of maize to FRA.
“We expect these numbers to rise as more farmers continue to supply maize to FRA,” he said.
Mr Kabundula also said that 13 agro dealers have come on board to supply farming inputs to beneficiaries, but only four have so far been activated to deliver the inputs.
He said that the four agro-dealer have been inspected to ensure that they met the required standards before being allowed to participate in the programme.
A farmer, Benedict Nachivula has thanked the Government for the timely redemption of FISP inputs.
Ms Nachivula said the early availability of inputs will enable farmers to commence their farming activities on time.
“I am thankful to the Government for ensuring that we are able to redeem our inputs on time,” she said.
She said the timely redemption has given her confidence, as she now has the farming inputs ready at her home.
Another farmer, Steven Mwaba, has expressed happiness with the use of the e-voucher system in the redemption of farming inputs.
Mr Mwaba said he is grateful to the Government for facilitating the timely redemption of inputs, noting that the development will enable farmers to start farming early.
“We are happy with the use of the e-voucher system, it is working well so far,” he said.
