AGROECOLOGY COORDINATOR OUTRAGED BY GOVERNMENT’s INABILITY TO PURCHASE MAIZE FROM PEASANT FARMERS
Lusaka… Saturday June 14, 2025 – The Socialist Party (SP) has criticised the Zambian government’s recent announcement regarding its inability to purchase all maize produced by peasant farmers during the 2024–2025 farming season.
Mr. Graster Mundi, the National Coordinator for Agroecology and a member of the Socialist Party’s Central Committee, described the statement made by Minister of Agriculture Reuben Mtolo Phiri as both “saddening and frightening.”
Mr. Phiri, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Chipata Central in Eastern Province, had earlier revealed that the government lacked sufficient funds to procure the entire maize harvest from farmers.
In his reaction, Mr. Mundi expressed disappointment that such a declaration was made at a time when the nation should be celebrating a bumper harvest, which he attributed to favourable rains in the previous season.
He disclosed that those most likely to be excluded from the government’s maize purchase programme were small-scale farmers, particularly from rural constituencies such as Chipata Central – ironically represented by the same minister.
Mr. Mundi stated that his concerns extended beyond the mere purchase of maize.
He criticised the broader agricultural system, highlighting issues related to production, marketing, and the lack of autonomy for peasant farmers.
He noted that farmers, despite their hard work, were being told by the Head of State to strive harder to improve their livelihoods, while the government continued to expose them to exploitative market forces.
He further lamented the absence of value addition initiatives in the agricultural sector, accusing successive governments of failing to promote local processing and packaging of produce such as cotton, groundnuts, and sunflower.
“In Chipata Central, where the Minister himself is the MP, how many peasant farmers are actually benefiting from processing and selling their produce locally or internationally?” Mr. Mundi questioned.
He warned that abandoning this vital segment of the economy would make poverty eradication impossible.
He reaffirmed the Socialist Party’s position, saying that under the leadership of party President Dr. Fred M’membe, the approach to agriculture would be fundamentally different.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mundi emphasized that the party would ensure that no valuable produce from provinces such as Eastern would leave unprocessed and that value addition would become a key pillar of agricultural development.
He also stressed the importance of food sovereignty and peasant self-determination as essential components of national development.