STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
25.05.2023
SMALL SCALE FARMERS HAVE BEEN SLAPPED IN THE FACE BY THE NEW DAWN GOVERNMENT.
The decision by the new dawn Government through FRA not to buy Soya beans in the 2022/2023 crop marketing season is a direct slap on the face of the small scale farmers in the country.
There are many factors attesting to this fact some of which are here listed below:
1. It has been a song of the new dawn Government to encourage small scale farmers to take farming as a serious business that can help create real wealth for them.
2. Government is on record of encouraging small scale farmers to diversify from growing maize only into growing other cash crops such as soya beans, cotton, tobacco, sunflower, ground nuts, cassava etc which are more profitable than maize. 3. Government has always been assuring small scale farmers that it would help find market for those crops for them.
4. The president directed and encouraged small scale farmers to grow more soya beans in the 2022/2023 farming season as government had already found market for it in China.
5. There was good and attractive soya beans price in the 2021/2022 crop marketing season of
K 11/kg translating into K550 / 50kg bag which made more small scale farmers to grow more soya beans in the 2022/2023 farming season.
6. There was late distribution of maize seed and fertilizer for the 2022/2023 farming season which only came after planting season for maize was over in many parts of the country thereby favouring the planting of soya beans.
7.Maize seed and fertilizer for those on FISP were not enough for the 2022/2023 farming season which saw small scale farmers sharing fertilizer in 5L containers commonly known as medas.
8. The prices of maize seed and fertilizer were too high beyond the reach of majority small scale farmers.
These factors coupled with many others inspired majority of the small scale farmers in Zambia to grow more soya beans than maize in the 2022/2023 farming season hoping that they would make more money from soya beans which in turn they would use to buy maize for their domestic consumption if need be.
But alas as per the NEW DAWN ADMINISTRATION OF LYING TO IT’S PEOPLE, small scale farmers who laboured to grow more soya beans have been left to sale their crop to briefcase buyers who are only offering between K3 to K 5 / kg translating into between K150 to K250 / 50kg bag resulting into a loss of about K 300 / 50kg bag as compared with the previous marketing season, instead Government has decided to increase maize price from K180 to K280 / 50kg bag which they know many small scale farmers do not have, but only commercial farmers will benefit from this good maize price.
Indeed this is a direct slap on the face of our small scale farmers.
By
Hon. Pst. Boyd Mwape Chibuye
NDC V/President.
2026 Tulibonse.
JOB CREATION THROUGH INDUSTRIALIZATION.