SIMUUSA

By JUDITH NAMUTOWE-
THE Government has challenged local maize producers to take advantage of the food deficit around the region and beyond and produce more for the export market during the 2014/2015 farming season.
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Wylbur Simuusa said there was need for maize producers in the country to take advantage and produce more food next year.
Mr Simuusa said Zambia has the most potential to meet the food deficit around the region hence the need for maize producers to take advantage and produce more.
“We need to take advantage of the food deficit around the region and beyond because we have the potential to meet this deficit.
“I want to challenge maize producers in the country to position themselves and be able to produce more maize next year,” Mr Simuusa said.
The minister said Government wanted to produce a super bumper harvest and that was the reason it was doing things differently this year.
“As I am speaking to you right now, we have distributed almost 50 per cent of fertiliser in almost all the districts and we expect that by September this year, all the inputs will have been distributed,” he said.
Last week, Government released K60 million to kick-start the maize purchasing exercise across the country.
Mr Simuusa said the purchase had started in areas where moisture content in maize was at 12.5 per cent.
He said the Food Reserve Agency was ready to buy maize from the farmers but that they should exercise patience.
Mr Simuusa urged the farmers to keep funds for fertiliser in  the next farming season.