Bilke Mulenga
3 June 2011
Some small-scale farmers in Lufwanyama have welcomed the maize floor price announced by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) on Tuesday.
Katembula Co-operative Society farmer Isaac Lofoyi said in an interview in Lufwanyama yesterday that the price was good because the farmers would still make profits just as they had done last season.
He said that K65, 000 per 50 kilogram bag of maize was fair and that it was good that the Government had not reduced the price owing to the bumper harvest.
Mr Lofoyi said he was optimistic that most of the farmers would sell their maize to FRA because they would be assured of getting their money in good time.
He said members of his cooperative were ready to sell their maize to FRA and not anywhere else because of the assurance to be paid in full and without delay.
Mr Lofoyi appealed to the Government to ensure that depot clerks at FRA buying points were advised against unnecessary delays in issuing payment vouchers to farmers.
He alleged that last year some depot clerks had a tendency of delaying issuance of payment vouchers to the farmers that sold their maize to the agency.
“Now that the Government has maintained the price, we are happy and are ready to sell our maize to FRA because there we are being assured of getting our dues in full and without delay,” he said.
And Lundazi District Commissioner Alexander Miti urged farmers to sell their commodity to FRA satellite depots.
In an interview in Chipata yesterday, Mr Miti advised farmers to sell their maize to the agency and ensure guaranteed payments.
He said it is better for the farmers to wait and adhere to all the FRA requirements and received their money in good time that to people they were unsure of.
Meanwhile, Zambia Cooperative Federation president Lawrence Zimba said this year’s maize floor price would save farmers from exploitation from those who wanted to cash in from the high supply of the commodity on the market.
Mr Zimba said although Zambia had a liberalised economy, positive Government interventions in a free market economy such as maintaining the K65,000 per 50 kilogramme bag of maize was healthy in view of another bumper harvest for the second consecutive year.
“We are in a liberalized economy where the law of supply and demand determines the prices and where the market is flooded with a commodity, the prices are expected to reduce drastically,” he said.
Mr Zimba advised the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to prepare adequately for this year crop marketing season as the farmers waited for the moisture content in their maize to drop.
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