. Lungu
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu’s recent announcement of a further increase in the maize floor price from the K70 set by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to K75 deserves kudos.
FRA recently announced it would start buying maize from farmers at K70 per 50 kilogramme bag of maize but President Lungu on Tuesday directed the Agency to increase the price to K75.
This will not only benefit farmers but the entire Zambian population. Zambian farmers have for a long time now suffered as a result of some bogus business executives taking advantage of the vulnerability to make them sell their hard-earned produce at give away prices.
The farmers are being exploited by the briefcase buyers.
Farmers in many areas of the country have been selling their produce to bogus business executives, yet with the increase in the prices of the staple food, small-scale farmers will now sell their produce to the FRA at a reasonable price.
Farmers should be cautious with these briefcase business persons going round farming areas, buying farm produce at giveaway prices.
Although the market is liberalised, it would not be good for farmers to rush into selling their maize to bogus buyers but consider selling their grain to the FRA at the recommended price or more.
It is sad to note that small-scale farmers sometimes end up being duped after working so hard. Among some tricks briefcase maize buyers employ is the use of mal-functional scales when buying maize from farmers, yet the FRA only weighs from good scales.
By increasing the price of maize, the Government has proved that it is pro-poor and is determined to address challenges being faced by small-scale farmers.
We hope that the civil servants who are concerned with effecting payments to the farmers for the maize supplied do their part and ensure that the farmers are paid without delay.
Farmers ought to be paid on time to ensure that they plan and purchase farming inputs in readiness for the next farming season.
We also appreciate the fact that FRA has since started buying maize and so far 65,000 tonnes of grain for the 2015/2016 crop marketing season has been bought.
The FRA is targeting to buy about 500,000 for the national strategic reserve.
We agree with Agriculture and Livestock Minister Given Lubinda who said the Government had so far procured about 65,000 tonnes of maize as of Monday August 17, 2015.
In that regard, Mr Lubinda has, therefore, directed the FRA to pay the farmers within two weeks from the time they deliver the grains.
The minister said it was important for FRA to pay the farmers within two weeks of purchase.
Mr Lubinda argued that the floor price announced by FRA was the FRA price and not the market price.
He was encouraging the private sector to go out there and buy the maize at the market price, which is higher than what FRA is offering now.
The Government should also ensure that it quickly moves into rural areas and buy maize from small-scale farmers in order to beef up the national reserves in view of the global food crisis following the poor rainfall pattern last season.
The Zambia Alliance for Agro-ecology and Biodiversity Conservation (ZAABC) has since commended the Government for increasing the buying price of maize by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) by K5.
ZAABC chairperson Emmanuel Mutamba said despite the increase being minimal, the move by the Government showed goodwill in supporting the interests of small-scale farmers (SSF) considering the cost of production the farmers incurred.
Mr Mutamba said despite the increase to K75, it did not swallow up the production costs of maize which was about K100 per 50kg bag.
ZAABC is, however, concerned about the continued dependence of farmers on Government for the purchase of produce.
So far the Government has done well but some farmers should also, as time goes on, wean themselves from Government support and have their own wings to fly than entirely depending on the treasury.
