Kazungula District Farmers’ Cooperative chairperson, Mwiinga Muchabila, has warned that any further delays by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to commence the maize marketing exercise would jeopardize farmers’ preparation for the 2012/2013 farming season.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS yesterday, Mr Mwiinga noted that most farmers in both Kazungula and Livingstone are deeply concerned with the delay by the FRA to start the maize buying exercise.
“I can tell you that most farmers are not happy with the delays by the government to start the maize buying exercise and are left wondering whether the government would buy their maize and how much quantity,” said Mr Mwiinga.
He observed that farmers were worried that with only three months left before the on-set of the rains, time was fast running out to enable them start buying farming inputs in preparation for the2012/2013 farming season.
Mr Mwiinga said the delay has also forced many farmers to sell their maize at prices as low as K22, 500 per 50 Kilo gramme bag.
Meanwhile, Mr Mwiinga argued that the move by the government to compel farmers to open bank accounts will work against farmers whom he said have no knowledge about banking services.
He also wondered how farmers will be able to sustain their bank accounts when farming was a seasonal activity characterised by a host of uncertainties.
“This move will work against farmers in that most farmers have no other means of generating money to sustain their accounts and so their bank accounts risked closure by the banks,” said Mr Mwiinga.
He cited his cooperative which had about 12,000 members but only 100 had bank accounts.
Mr Mwiinga urged the government to continue with the old system of payments through the banks without them opening personal bank accounts.
He further implored the government to clear the air on whether farmer’s cooperatives countrywide will be engaged to buy maize on behalf of the FRA during this year’s marketing season.
“We have heard some rumours that government will not engage farmers’ cooperatives to buy maize on behalf of the FRA this year and I call upon the government to clear the air on this issue ,” Mr Mwiinga said.
And Livingstone District Commissioner, Paul Sensele, said the PF government was fully committed to buying the maize from farmers across the country and urged them to be patient as measures were being worked out to commence the exercise as soon as possible.
ZANIS
playing with food while others r starving ka-something needs to be done uko ku FRA its either they are not buying the crops olo no the crop is destroyed due to bad storage -one f__up after another -bwafya sana!
Kolwestan and agriculture don’t mix. They are town mice, allegedly! They don’t even know where beef or cornflakes come from.
what do you expect from PF govt…?nothing new will come your way..
what do you expect from Policy Failure government.
there will be no more bumper harvest.
RB was very serious in this field. PF is full of promiserly notes
LET HH BUY YOUR MAIZE,WHY CRY TO YOUR ENEMY FOR HELP WHEN YOU HAVE A RELATIVE NEAR YOU?
Ba Rod you are a prejudiced hater, bantustan tribalist. You could expect such small hiccups when there is a change of government.
FRA should only hoard strategic reserves. There is a need for the government to review its policy in terms of agriculture, that is if it has one or formulate a policy that moves Zambia from this mono crop growing strategy. Government has no business of buying maize (only on strategic reserve) to the extent every small scale farmer looks up to sell maize to the government. Where is the private sector in all this. Even the vice president who seemed in the beginnimg to have a direction has gone deafeningly quiet. Something is wrong with this government
@8. Chindakwanda Galileo, no my dear don’t mistake me for Ukwa. For starters, I am not the one whose stuffed the cabinet, civil service, diplomatic service and parastatals with my relatives and tribesmen and women!
I TOLD YOU UKWA ONLY KNOWS GOAT MEAT NOT THIS TYPE OF AGRICULTURE WORSE IF IT IS COTTON.
FRA CAN BUY AND EXPORT MAIZE AS BUSINESS.
 MANJE KAYA.
FRA is the buyer of the last resort …read the FRA act………..MMD politicized fra for political gain……this govenment should let FRA revert back to its mandate of hoarding strategic food reserves and u cooperatives ba kabwalala no more buying on behalf of fra ….your have dainted the image of FRA…..
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