ZAMBIA has for some time now been recording bumper harvests for the staple crop, maize, and normally prices of mealie meal, the main product from the crop, should not be an issue.
In fact, with the bumper harvests, prices of mealie meal should have correspondingly been coming down with every abundant production of maize.
These bumper harvests are mainly attributable to the Government subsidies for the small-scale farmers countrywide under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
Justifiably, the Government introduced FISP as a way of subsidising the production of maize to help keep the prices of mealie-meal reasonably low while empowering local small-scale farmers.
Obviously, this is a wiser way of doing things than introducing subsidies on consumption as a way of maintaining the prices of mealie-meal low.
But while farmers and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) offload maize on the market at somewhat low prices, the prices for the final product, mealie-meal, are always skyrocketing.
The current arrangement which is implemented at a great cost is not fully benefiting the intended targets – the final consumers of mealie-meal – because of various challenges, including sometimes the greed of middle players.
Distances from places where maize is grown to where it is processed into mealie meal and the cost of storage are other factors that greatly contribute to the high cost of mealie-meal.
Truly, currently there is misallocation of milling activities which take place so remote from the maize production and also so far away from the intended markets, creating challenges of transport and other costs.
It is, therefore, gratifying that the Zambia Cooperatives Federation (ZCF) has embarked on a US$55 million project to set up 25 milling plants in various maize-producing districts in the country to curb that.
We are even more elated in that ZCF has already secured $10.8 million from the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) for the construction of four of milling plants in four districts this year.
This is the way to go!
This will, in our view, help cut out some of the middle people involved in the chain and drastically reduce prices of the staple food.
We further note that this project squarely resonates with the Government’s desire to establish such milling plants in all districts, especially the predominant maize growing ones.
A start has already been made through the setting up of Kalonga Milling plant by the Zambia Prisons Service in Kabwe.
While we are wary of the fact that, generally, the millers and other people involved in the processing of maize would not be happy with the mooted arrangement because it is capable of sending them out of their business, we feel it is in national interest.
Apart from ensuring reasonably low prices of mealie-meal, this project will bring about a multiple of benefits which will accrue to the consumers and all citizens.
For instance, once completed, the milling plants are expected to create in excess of 1,000 jobs in areas where the facilities will be located.
This will, obviously, have a big multiplier effect on the local people and the local economy.
At a macro level the establishment of the milling plants will help set a stage for rural industrialisation and development fitting squarely in the system of industrial clusters currently being championed by the Government.
Surely, it will create a definite market for the small-scale farmers thereby complimenting the FRA and reduce the current financial burden off the Government, which has to always look for funds to pay the farmers.
This is because the milling plants will be the off-takers of production.