FRA PREPARES K500 MILLION ADVANCE PAYMENT FOR MAIZE AND RICE SUPPLIERS
THE Food Reserve Agency has transferred over K500 million to banks for payment to farmers who have supplied or will supply maize and rice to the Agency.
FRA Board Chairperson Suresh Desai says the money has been sent in advance, even for maize that has not yet been purchased.
Mr. Desai says the Agency has currently purchased 102,578 metric tons of maize, equivalent to 2,051,560 fifty-kilogramme bags.
Additionally, Mr. Desai said the FRA has increased the number of depots to 1,600 from 1,428.
He told journalists at a media briefing in Lusaka that the Agency has started buying maize and rice in 829 satellite depots across the country.
Mr. Desai said the Agency will use three different payment methods: mobile money payments (across all three mobile service providers), cash payments where no other options are available, and bank payments.
He added that the Agency has not yet started buying maize in Northern, Northwestern, and Luapula provinces, where the moisture content is still around 14 percent, against the recommended 12.5 percent.
Meanwhile, Mr. Desai said export of excess maize to the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with other countries interested in importing maize from Zambia, will begin soon.
ZNBC