The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has signed a contract with the Tanzania National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) to supply 20, 000 metric tonnes of white maize valued at US$7million to Tanzania.
FRA Executive Director, Chola Kafwabulula, signed on behalf of FRA while the Tanzania National Food Reserve Agency Chief Executive Officer, Charles Walwa, signed on before of his agency.
Speaking during the signing ceremony at the FRA Head Office in Lusaka, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Permanent Secretary, Siazongo Siakalenge, congratulated the two food reserve agencies for successfully signing the agreement.
Mr Siakalenge stated that the transaction is meant to assist Tanzania to mitigate any chances of a shortage of white maize that is imminent in that country.
He thanked the Tanzanian Government for looking up to Zambia for the supply of maize, saying this shows the confidence that that country has in Zambia’s capacity to feed the Southern African region in particular and the continent in general.
Speaking earlier, representative of Tanzania’s High Commissioner in Zambia, Justa Nyange, thanked the FRA for coming to the aid of NFRA to balance the maize stock in her country.
Ms Nyange also thanked President Sata for offering Tanzania an opportunity to procure maize from Zambia through the FRA.
ZANIS
ee ee but i thought we have a shortage of mealie-meal..how are we thinking-why not sell that milisi to the local millers ee awe shua pa zambia napo..I really cant see the logic-ladies and gentlemen if u thought we had a country..we are headed for disaster…bad government and bad governance!!when will this end please
Naimwe ..so ignorant….there is no shortage of maize in Zambia. Zambia has had 3 consecutive abnormal harvest and a lot of maize has been rooting. The Millers are the ones who are creating an artificial shortage of mealie meal for the reasons well known to them. Maize is there dear,
@Truth Hates, you’re a typical dumb and dishonest PF cadre.
@ ba ‘Truth Hates’ first of all have a few seats for calling me ignorant when u don’t even know me and can’t even notice that ur name shud be spelt as the ‘truth hurts’..i digress!!..personally i think the food reserve agency is a mess and our govt has serious lack of priorities…in my ‘ignorant’ mind i fail to see the logic whereby on móne hand we have a mealie-meal shortage…then on the other hand we are selling maize—if the maize is rotting and millers are out of control as u have suggested..that just goes to show that our govt is incompetent!!yes they are..ine iv worked for govt for a looong time mwaiche and i can see the difference..calling me ignorant wikabwekeshapo libili..u shud have manners atase icishibishi!!
This is insanity of the highest order. When the country is suffering the first food shortages since the UNIP days FRA is selling the little maize the country has to a foreign country? Does this country have any leadership? This is only early in the year, what will happen come April? Yesterday it was Solwezi without millie meal, today it is Kabompo, tomorrow it will be another place, just what is the curse on this country?
This just confirms what Mr Sata then a minister in Chiluba’s govt said to his Swazi friend and then minister of health in 1995 and I quort, ‘Zambians are very docile people, one day I will rule them.’ This may sound as hearsay but it is true; if need be I can name the minister this statement was made to. Unfortunately what appeared to be a silly joke then has come to pass and he is proving to be right in his statements. Zambians are really docile people. What a pity!
Who told you that Zambia has no Maize….you are just ignorant man. We tell you not only to read Watch Dog. Research man,….dont you know that Zambia as at now has a lot of maize more than it needs? The millers have their own reasons why they are creating artificial shortage of mealie meal…meaize is there man. Ask the millers if there is no maize at FRA ..Dont just rant man.
Oh my ! I thought last time i checked we didn’t have enough stocks ? Yaba ! Bane kwati umu tamuli amano mwena.
Maize is there man. only that the millers are creating artificial shortage of mealie meal for the reasons they only know themselves.
@Truth Hates, you’re a typical dumb and dishonest PF cadre!
f you are a UPND cadre blocking for HH dont think all are cadres. What do I lose when I say the truth than always spiting lies ? Again I tell you that I am In Zambia and very close to FRA business. Zambia has enough maize. Your millers are faking the mealie meal shortage and not the Maize. May the Lord God bless you Sir.
When we said you are voting for crooks and you thought we are lying,here is your PF gov.
JUST LIKE WE GAVE MALAWI FUEL ,,,,,POOR MANAGEMENT
And Zimbabwe will come asking for the 17 000 000 metric tonnes that was never delivered to them despite paying for the commodity,hope we will not con TZ as well.
who cares about u Zambians , shld u starve!! tough …then,
You guys are so ignorant about the maize situation in Zambia. There is a lot of maize. Dont think that if millers create artificial shortage of mealie meal then maize is not there..no no. At FRA there is a lot of maize which millers cant finish buying in the next 3 months before harvest.
@Truth Hates. You’re a typical dumb and dishonest PF cadre.
If you are a UPND cadre blocking for HH dont think all are cadres. What do I lose when I say the truth than always spiting lies ? Again I tell you that I am In Zambia and very close to FRA business. Zambia has enough maize. Your millers are faking the mealie meal shortage and not the Maize. May the Lord God bless you Sir.
The PS for Agriculture and Fisheries has the audacity to even congratulate FRA…its no wonder our fish stocks are depleted due to overfishing with such characters in office and we are importing from our neighbours.
These maggots have ruined the country with their incompetence!
Dear you will insult and rant as much as you want but the fact is that as at now we have enough maize more than the country needs. remember that just last year a lot of maize went to waste just coz of lack of market. This maize we have in stock should not go to waste again. So keep on insulting me and ranting aimlessly for I dont mind. Your frustration and bitterness will kill you man. Just take it easy for 2016 October is so far .
Peace and Prosperity to Mother Zambia.
Why dont you post your lies on the shortage of mealie meal in Kabompo? The story is immediately below this one. Why are you avoiding it?
Pobability shows that PF is not thinking, how come no 1 is supporting you. How can you export Maize when the country is facing exorbitant prices of ubunga / shortages of ubunga instead of ofloading it in the market at an adjusted prices to prove the millers wrong. I think something is wrong here.
The curiosity that this state of affairs stokes is what is going on with the distribution system within the country with regards to how the staple is being produced and delivered around the country. I know that sometimes if no profit comes from an activity the producers will either lie low or simply abandon a venture. We still do need both the small scale milling outfits (figayo) as well as government-backed miller programs. Or not? FRA does seem to be doing what is feasible in terms of marketing excess produce; I would love to believe this is the case.
WHAT QUALIFICATIONS HAS THIS KAFWABULULA HAS OTHER THAN BEEN A BEMBA TO HEAD FRA. THE GUY HAS NO CLUE ABOUT AGRICULTURE. WHAT HAS HE STUDIED? DEMOGRAPHY OR WHAT?
We lack seriousness as a Nation. You fail to meet the Delivery Order for supply of 17,000 MT Maize to Zimbabwe & simultaneously enter into a Contract with Tanzania to sell 20,000MT of the same Commodity. All this is taking place in the midst of sporadic supply of Mealie Meal in many parts of the Country occasioned by an inefficient Grain Marketing System. FRA needs to put it’s house in order. The decisions being made do not make Business sense.
am a tanzanian pls Zambian guve us maize we r hungry here
Someone is insisting that there is plenty of maize in Zambia – and stating that the millers are the ones hording it to create an artificial shortage. So, why isn’t the FRA flooding the local market with maize in order to counteract this action from some millers? ( in effect, so that the stocks they are holding rot on them ) Why would the FRA export maize when the current local market is distorted? Various towns and cities are either crying out at the lack of mealie meal or high prices. I would have thought a prudent govt. would firstly get to the bottom of what is going on, than to start signing export agreements and shamelessly patting themselves on the back.
There is no need to insult each other here, fellow Zambians. There is no shortage of maize in the country. I work for the Food Reserve Agency. Calling us useless or whatever after we have served you for over 15 years now is not fair. Last year we bought over 10,000,000 metric tonnes of maize. Between November and February we had released only about 300 metric tonnes to millers in the country as a way of cushioning the erratic supply of mealie meal. This was an addition to what millers had bought themselves. Meaning in our storage we have about 700 metric tonnes of maize which is just too much to last for over one year. To Tanzania we exported only 20,000 metric tonnes, which is just a drop in the ocean.
Therefore, the problem here is not FRA nor the shortage of maize.
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