GOVERNMENT has announced that the country has a surplus of 1.6 million metric tonnes of maize recorded from the past two bumper harvests.
Minister of Agriculture and Co-operatives Eustarckio Kazonga says the surplus has been recorded from both the 2.7 million metric tonnes harvest of the 2009/2010 season and the three million metric tonnes recorded this year.
And Dr Kazonga told Parliament yesterday that over K1.2 trillion was given to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) in the 2010 harvest season to buy maize.
The minister added that FRA also borrowed K246 billion from financial lending institutions in the same year.
Dr Kazonga was responding to a question from Gwembe member of Parliament Brian Ntundu, who wanted to know how much money Government released to FRA to buy maize from the 2010 harvest
ZNBC
Our hardworking farmers have done it again despite poor agriculture policies.Input distributed late and not adequate, farmers not paid on time etc.The gvt should not just be production focused but rather market focused.we have seen bumper harvest in the past two yrs,but farmers are always paid late and some produce is soaked every yr.if we have a bumper harvest what next? are we going to consume every thing?have we sourced the market already or we will do it towards the rain season as per tradition?