Mafeteng, Sept. 23 — Farmers in Mafeteng have welcomed the arrival and distribution of seeds and manure by the Ministry of Agriculture.
In an interview with the Agency, Mr. Neo Masithela, a farmer expressed joy over arrival of seeds and manure that had long been waited.
However, he said they were surprised when they visited the Area Technical Officer at Ramohapi Resource Centre on Tuesday to enquire about prices and returned to the Ministry on Wednesday to make the purchase, only to find that the affordable seeds and manure had already been sold to farmers who arrived earlier.
According to Mr. Masithela, farmers were then advised to purchase alternative seeds, which were more expensive than those they had expected to receive.
Meanwhile, Mrs. ‘Masosanna Thulo of Ha-Kuili said although farmers were advised to purchase other seeds and manure, they had little choice but to buy the more expensive inputs as the planting season was progressing.
She explained that waiting for the cheaper seeds and manure to arrive could result in farmers missing the appropriate planting period, while they also did not know when the cheaper inputs would become available.
Mrs. Thulo said the Ministry had also made the process easier for farmers purchasing seeds, as they would no longer need to visit the Area Technical Officer again for enquiries.
Instead, she said farmers had been advised to present a receipt from their previous purchase, which could be used to make another purchase.
Moreover, Mrs.Thulo said continued rainfall was making planting difficult in some areas, as excessive moisture causes farmland to become waterlogged and sink.
She noted that although farmers had been warned about possible drought conditions, they would continue planting and wait to see how the season develops.
“Sometimes it is painful to spend a lot of money on planting and end up harvesting very little,” she said.
Ends/MMK
