Maize floor price a pleasant surprise, says Farmers Association
AGRICULTURE expert and National Association for Smallholder Farmers founder, Dr Frank Kayula, has described the recently announced maize floor price as a pleasant surprise, saying smallholder farmers had feared the price would be much lower.
Dr Kayula said the favourable price should, however, not tempt farmers to sell all their maize, urging them to keep adequate reserves in view of the looming El Niño weather phenomenon.
In an interview with TV Yatu, he advised farmers to carefully balance their sales with household and future food security needs.
“We are calling on farmers to sell what they should, taking into consideration storage for the coming El Niño. The good price should not tempt farmers to sell everything,” he said.
Dr Kayula also commended the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) for introducing depot committees to schedule grain deliveries by farmers, saying the initiative would help reduce congestion at FRA depots.
He further encouraged farmers to clean their maize at farm level before transporting it to FRA depots to speed up the delivery process.
“I also implore farmers to clean their grain at farm level so that they do not waste time when delivering to FRA. Cleaning should not be done at depots.
“I thank FRA for introducing depot committees that will schedule how farmers deliver grain to FRA depots. This will further reduce overcrowding at depots,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Kayula called on the government to officially label Zambia’s locally produced maize as non-genetically modified (non-GMO), saying such certification would enable the country to attract premium prices in regional export markets.
©TV Yatu | Noel Iyombwa | July 25, 2026.