K160 MAIZE FLOOR PRICE UNFAIR TO FARMERS. SAYS SILAVWE
As GPZ, we wish to express our disappointment over the announced maize floor price by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA). The price will not make economic sense especially for the small scale farmers.
Considering the increases in fuel/transportation, fertiliser and other farming inputs, the increment of 160 from K150 is meaningless. It is therefore unfathomable how our farmers will be expected to make reasonable profits.
We expected the floor price to be pegged K200 and above especially that President Hakainde Hichilema is a farmer himself. We expected the new dawn Government in their own words ‘to treat farming as a business and not a charity.’
The floor price has the potential to de-motivate our farmers from farming the maize crop thus increasing the price of mealie meal and increasing poverty levels in communities. The government must be sincere when they claim to be bettering the lives of our people.
We request the New Dawn Administration to deliberately reduce the cost of farming inputs such as fertiliser by modernising and capitalising Nitrogen Chemicals Limited. We further request the FRA to re-revise the maize floor price to K200, it’s not too late.
GPZ, Our People First.
Silavwe Jackson
President
GPZ.
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