The government through the Food Reserve Agency recently announced that it will in this year’s crop marketing season pay K110 for a 50kg bag of white maize.
Announcing the development at a media briefing, FRA Executive Director Chola Kafwabulula said the Agency will this year buy 1 million metric tonnes of maize as announced by President Edgar Lungu recently.
Kafwabulula said the private sector is expected to purchase the remainder of the over 3 million metric tones of maize that the country is expected to harvest.
However, UPND president Hakainde Hichilema says the proposed price is a mockery to the farmers adding that it is not economically prudent for them.
He says what this means is that the farmers will be selling at a loss of K118/ per 50kg bag, and will not be able to able to graduate into self sustaining farmers.
“Maize cost of production per 50kg bag, K228; floor price K110.
“At this rate we should forget about FISP beneficiaries graduating to self sustaining farmers running profitable entities,” he said.
HH said there is need for a paradgm shift in how agriculture is being run in the country. “We need to rethink agriculture along the lines of business and not charity,” says Hichilema.
Zambia’s agriculture sector is this year expected to produce over 3 million metric tones of maize as announced by Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo.