By CATHERINE NYIRENDA –

GOVERNMENT has increased the maize floor price for the 2014/15 maize marketing season from K65 to K70 for a 50 kilogramme bag.
Agriculture and Livestock Minister Wylbur Simuusa said in Parliament yesterday in a ministerial statement that thethat the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) would buy the maize for the 2014/2015 marketing season at K70.
Mr Simuusa said the new maize floor price was arrived at after several calculations and consultations and that the price was good enough to give the farmers profits.
“This is an indicative price and farmers are free to sell their crop at the best price on the market as the farmer is priority and it is very important that he or she is adequately rewarded for growing the crop and the benefit for growing the crop should be enjoyed by all Zambians,” Mr Simuusa said.
He advised the private sector and millers to also go in the field to buy maize and not wait to purchase from the FRA as the agency would be restricted to purchase for strategic stocks only.
Mr Simuusa told the House that Government was in the next farming season anticipating a super bumper harvest of not less than four million tonnes following the positive measures from Government and the concerted efforts from farmers.
He said Government would purchase 500, 000 tonnes of maize and 2,100 tonnes paddy rice, from 1,115 satellite depots across the country.
He said Government intended to pay farmers promptly through appointed financial institutions in various locations to avoid congestion.
“Satellite depots in districts have been zoned for purposes of payment to farmers and these will be assigned specific pay points and days during the week when they can be paid,” he said
The minister also announced that Government had been allocated with K500 million for implementation of this year’s Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) for the 2014/15 agricultural season.
He said Government had also increased the beneficiaries of the FISP programme from 900 farmers to 1000, but the number of bags per recipient had been maintained.