Councillors lobby for wider farmers� compensation

Under the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agricultural Development (ISPAAD), farmers are compensated for tillage and seeds, but only if they used the recommended row planting system. Those using the older broadcast method do not receive support under the programme.

However, in their ongoing sitting, councillors pleaded with government to recognise the special situation farmers in the district were in. The councillors said the district experienced poor rains and few farmers had managed to plough their fields, with an estimated 3,543.8 hectares under crop from 872 farmers compared to 17,000 hectares from 6,300 farmers last season.