A group of unscrupulous individuals is suspected of swindling 125 small-scale farmers in Petauke District, Eastern Province, out of K375,000 intended for the purchase of fertilizer.
Headman Chenjelani of Chief Kalindawalo in Petauke District said that each farmer contributed K3,000 with the expectation of receiving eight bags of fertilizer. However, the fertilizer they received was stolen from Beira, Mozambique.
Some farmers had even sold their livestock to raise the money for the fertilizer, only to have it withdrawn without compensation with the assistance of the police.
The village headman has called upon the government to intervene and provide assistance to the affected farmers.
Eastern Province Police Commanding Officer Limpo Liywalii confirmed that three suspects were in police custody in connection with the fertilizer scandal. However, he refrained from disclosing their identities due to the ongoing investigation.
The fertilizer scam has left several farmers without the necessary agricultural inputs for the upcoming farming season, potentially leading to food shortages.
