ZNFU Implores Government To revisit E-Voucher System

Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has called on government to revisit certain aspects of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), particularly the E-voucher system.

In a statement, Union President Jervis Zimba said as stated in the 2025 national budget that FISP will be 100% E-voucher in the coming year, it is important to recognize that the system has not been working well in practice and farmers have misgivings that all the challenges will be addressed by 2025.

Mr. Zimba stated that a longer phase down period should be ideal so that the E-voucher system is embraced organically where there is reasonable infrastructure.

He added that with regards to the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (SAFF) which aims to provide financing options to farmers through participating banks, the Union is concerned about the absence of incentives that would motivate farmers to utilize these financing options amid the current economic pressures.

Mr. Zimba noted that currently, Banks are operating in an environment where their target is to maximize earnings from their normal funds as opposed to funds with stated conditions.

“The proposed 2025 National Budget is progressive on funding towards national programmes but falls short on balancing the financing elements through a fairer mix of policy incentives towards the private sector who create jobs through tax concessions that would stimulate production and increase the appetite to take up available finance.”

“All this happening after the devasting drought effects and unprecedented power supply load shedding should be enough ground for re-setting the 2025 national budget to bring it in line with the aspirations of farmers because agriculture has the capacity to improve income earning opportunities to most people that are trying to make ends meet currently,” Mr. Zimba stated.

He added that the Union remains hopeful that the discussions on the 2025 National Budget will be introspective and accommodate the necessary viewpoints to make it more responsive to the Famers’ concerns.

In 2025, Government has proposed to spend a total of K217.1 billion compared to K177.9 billion in 2024 and significant allocations will be made to the agriculture sector, including the FISP which has been allocated K 9.3 billion targeting over 1 million farmers, while the strategic food reserve has been allocated K2.4 billion.