Black Economic Empowerment Movement is urging the government to increase funds to the National Economic Employment Fund (NEEF) to reach out to more farmers with fertilizer loan facilities.
The group’s representative, Robert Mkwezalamba, made the call in Blantyre at a press briefing to appraise journalists on the oversight role that the grouping undertook to have first-hand information on how the initiative is being implemented since its inception last year.
Mkwezalamba said for example 35,000 farmers from the Southern Region alone have so far benefitted from the initiative. He, however, noted that more deserving farmers are yet to benefit.
He further stated that the group established that the fertilizer loan initiative is apolitical as all beneficiaries were selected transparently in all the districts as beneficiaries were selected based on their eagerness to repay the fertilizer loan.
However, the grouping has noted with concern that some farmers were selling their fertilizer to dealers soon after receiving it.
In December last year, NEEF asked the organisation to carry out an independent analysis of the fertilizer loan initiative to establish successes and challenges and areas that need improvement to make the initiative more transformative to farmers.
