NORTHERN PROVINCE AGRICULTURE RANKING IMPROVES

BY NATION REPORTER THE Northern province is now ranked number four on the list of provinces with high maize productivity, Northern Province Permanent Secretary Royd Chakaba  has said. He said this has been necessitated by the efficient and timely distribution of farming inputs coupled with a good agriculture policy environment. “In terms of maize productivity, we are number four in the country but for beans, we are number one. The performance in the agriculture sector has been very good, obviously due to the good policies that Government has put in place,” he said. Mr Chakaba said the farmers in the province are now cultivating maize for commercial purposes and not for consumption as it was   in the past. He was speaking when  Neria’s Investments General Manager Mr Martin Chaikatisha paid a courtesy call on him in Kasama. Mr Chakaba appreciated that inputs are being delivered on time and the floor price of maize is good, which is forcing farmers to venture into agri-business. He commended Neria’s Investment for the timely distribution of inputs to the province adding that this is the first time that farmers will be receiving inputs as they take their maize to satellite depots for sale. He said the economy in the Northern province is anchored on agriculture, an activity, he said has transformed the lives of the people in the area. Meanwhile, places that are difficult to access during the rainy season have been prioritised in the fertilizer distribution exercise during this year’s farming season to ensure farmers receive inputs on time, Neria’s Investment general manager Martin Chaikatisha has disclosed. Mr Chaikatisha says Neria’s investments’ strategy is to ensure depots that are in remote places with a rough terrain are stocked with inputs. “So in places like Chilubi Island, Kaputa and Nsama, we have done 100 percent of the deliveries to avoid the bad terrain,” he said. He said Neria’s Investment has already done 80 percent of the deliveries in the Northern province and that the exercise will soon be finalised. Mr Chaikatisha said Neria is ready to start the distribution of inputs to the farmers once Government flags off the exercise.