If they accept the aid, they have to give a certain amount back to the government. But sometimes the harvest isn't that big, so the gov't requirements would mean their families would starve.
"...The situation is being made worse by the fact that the soldiers who are also struggling to survive themselves are only giving seed maize in a transparent manner but when it comes to fertilizer they are selecting individuals who they know.
“How can we give away a hectare of our crops when some of the people are only getting seed maize and are not given fertilizer? They still expect us to give them the one hectare even if we don’t get the fertilizer so it’s better we use our own scarce resources to buy the fertilizer on the black market,” said another farmer.
The 2007/2008 agricultural season which has been touted as the “mother of all seasons” and has jingles on state radio and television played with nauseating frequency may not go as planned because of the slow rate at which farmers are accessing inputs.
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