The Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) says the announced Maize buying price by the Food Reserve Agency is nowhere near what they had recommended.
The FRA today announced the price of K2.20 per Kg or K110 per 50Kg for white maize, K3.00 per Kg or K140 per 50Kg bag for soya beans and K1.75 or K70 per 40Kg bag of paddy rice.
But ZNFU Spokesman Calvin Kaleyi said the announced price is a far cry from what was agreed.
“ZNFU was invited to a consultative meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the announced price is nowhere near the range recommended by the stakeholders of K130 to K140 per 50Kg bag of white maize based on prevailing market price indications.”
“Regrettably, the FRA price of K110 per 50Kg bag is far below the current maize prices being offered in the main producing areas such as Central and Eastern Provinces,” Mr Kaleyi said.
“Recognizing that there are different producer prices prevailing in different parts of the country being offered by private buyers who are paying spot cash and the fact that the maize production forecast declined, farmers should search to obtain the best price possible prevailing in the area.”
He said the Union recognizes that the cost of production has increased and continues to escalate while the asset base of farmers has been wiped out by the adverse weather pattern which has been prevailing season after season since 2015 and the hostile macroeconomic environment.
“It is not an exaggeration to state that farming profitably today has remained unattainable by many farmers.”
The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has announced that it will this year buy maize at K110 per 50 kilogram bag from last year’s K75 per 50kilogram bag of maize.
However, President Edgar Lungu has said that the increase in the flow price of the maize grain in this year’s marketing season will encourage more Zambians to take up farming as a business.
President Lungu said the increase in prices for maize grain from K75 last marketing season to K110 this marketing season will encourage more farmers to take up farming as a serious business.
The President has since welcomed the new maize flow price and called on farmers to treat farming as a business.
The Head of State noted that his government has been encouraging Zambians to take up farming as a serious business and earn money out of it.
He said his government is serious about diversifying the economy as planned in the 7th National Development Plan by encouraging farming amongst citizens.
The President was speaking at Kabwe Trust School shortly before departure for Lusaka after he officially opened the first ever 5-Star Urban Bliss hotel in Kabwe.
The announcement for the new maize flow prices are expected to excite farmers and farmer organisations as they complained bitterly against low prices that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) pegged in last year’s maize marketing season.
Great I will come back to Zambia and invest in the business. Go president Go. Great job for the increase of the price. Will attract more Zambians from abroad to go back to the land.
wow! with all that labor that is involved in maize production to end up with just getting simple $8 per 50Kg bag? And if you work extremely hard and produce 1000 bags, you only end up with an $8000, less than my monthly salary (not showing off, just sad for the farmer here), really? Guys lets be serious. There is so much physical labour involved in producing maize, especially for a peasant farmer. you cant treat people like this. Even the bible says ‘pay the labourer his fare price’. Okay at least let them sell some of their maize to Congo directly by themselves for a good price..This is exploitation!!
The price is ok economically. Mind you we have to look at mealie meal price as well. the higher the maize price the higher the meal price. You same people who are saying the price is low are the the same f00luz who will later complain of high meal prices. you always complain even when people do good things for you. For as long as its not from a Tonga mouth its not good. Learn to apreciate you backward retards.
Ba Edgar, leave Zambians alone with their subsistence maize.
Farmers will have sleepless nights thinking State House will pounce on their maize.
He is inciting farmers to reject miaize at k110 at the same he dosent want t the price of mealie meal to go above k50
And inflation is at less than 8%?
Who is kidding who?
I think it’s a fair price
Yes it’s a fair price.. I don’t know what the Farmers union want. They have never accepted anything. You can encourage your members to sale direct to milers at their own price…not just complaining.. the price of winga will go up
As a business man I understand what these guys are going through but at the same time I don’t want the price of maize to increase any further but let’s be fair it’s better to set the price where the farmers make some profit but is also fair to the consumers damn you PF for making the cost of doing business increase
That’s where subsidies comes in, which you PF scrapped. I would also reject that price it’s not the farmers’ fault that the economy is messed up. Like someone stated let the farmers sell their maize to the highest bigger instead of these crooks who have failed to fix the economy and now they want to use the farmers to save themselves.
Subsidies should never come back. Let’s just compet
Why should FRA dictate the price of maize? Meanwhile the price of maize meal is not controlled inspite of millers buying maize from FRA.
Briefcase businessmen will buy at 75 ZMW
Comment: What has been announced by the government the K110 is in fact very fair economically.
Beyond this, aah! think about the ripple effects.
Zambians need to grow. let’s us not be on the opposite side always. when in fact you bought fertilizer cheaply but are advocating for exorbitant price. I this let’s help each develop this country by
contributing positively.
Let ZNFU also recommend the price of mealie meal.
Total hogwash
@ sambaulu Christopher. Not all of us farmers buy fertilizer at a subsidized price iwe kolwe. Chimutwe kwati nichi pf cadre
who is going to sale to FRA when vendors are buying at k120 per 50kg… This year ba FRA you will make massive loss.
The input is very high seeds and fertiliser and chemical also labour.that is why commercial farmers there don’t grow Maize we eat,they only grow for flesh ready for market,please let the government help the substance farms
The cost of farming inputs are extremely high, the labor endured is huge, so K110 is not a good price at all. The PF government is failing to rule the country well, in Nkeyema District local people are buying a 50kg bag of maize at K150.
Price isn’t bad if FRA can pay farmers in time. Usually,FRA takes a year or so to pay farmers and by then profit is consumed by inflation making farmers think there’s nothing in farming.
Year in and year out, ZNFU cries foul after FRA announces maize prices and yet, as we hear, they sit in those meetings where decisions are made. One wonders whether the decisions at those meetings are made ad referendum to other bodies that make the final decisions. But, what I know is that FRA is funded by the Government to purchase maize and other grains. So, it does not matter how much anybody cries foul, the financier has the final say. So, those meetings are useless if their resolutions do not count at the end of the day.
It has to do with whether we have proper agricultural polices in the first place. Do those policies provide an enabling environment for farming? Is it total liberalization we want or continued govt. Involvement for fear of the reactions to subsequent mealie meal prices? Consumer or producer? Should we be so reliant on maize?