Friday, March 29, 2024

Zambia has attained projected bumper harvest – Simuusa

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Last year's Maize from the bumper harvest in Kapiri Mposhi
File: A maize Storage facility in Kapiri Mposhi

Agriculture and Livestock Minister Wilbur Simuusa says the country has attained the bumper harvest projected for the 2014-2015 farming season.

Mr. Simuusa says the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has within three weeks of the opening of the crop marketing season, met government’s target of 500, 000 metric tons of maize grain purchase.

Mr. Simuusa says besides meeting the 500,000 target, the FRA is still overwhelmed with the more maize that is being brought for sell by farmers with two more months left of the crop marketing season.

Mr. Simuusa says it is for this reason that govt maintains that millers should explain the high price of Mealie Meal reported in some parts of the country.

He says this is because from the amount of maize that has been and is being bought by the FRA it is clear that there is a bumper harvest of maize in the country and therefore the price of mealie meal should go down.

The Agriculture and Livestock Minister says the suggestion that, while analyzing the reported high price mealie meal in some parts of the country, it is important to keep in mind that govt has increased the floor price for maize besides the hike in fuel pump price does not follow.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Mealie Meal prices will only come down after Government closes it’s maize purchase programme . Because of the bumper harvest a lot of maize will still remain unbought and so to avoid this stock going to waste farmers will be willing to sell maize at a reduced price of between K60 and K65 per 50 bag of mealie meal. This will result in reduced cost of production for miller’s which will in turn result in reduced prices of maize for the market.

  2. Ye the millers are just a bunch of thieves. What zambians can do is to start gaishaing the maize than buying the processed one at thrice the price. Zambians wake up and teach millers a big lesson.

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