Friday, March 29, 2024

Katete farmers still crying for their payments

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Katete District Commissioner, Peter Kunda Kaisa, has urged farmers in the district to remain calm as government was working towards paying the money owed to them through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).

Col Kaisa said government has already started paying farmers who supplied maize to the Food Reserve Agency as was seen in other districts in the province and other parts of the country, adding that any time soon Katete district will also receive its share.

He said government remains concerned with the plight of the farmers, adding that it was doing everything possible to address the situation.

The DC acknowledged that farmers are a key component of the sector that was driving Zambia’s economy.

He explained that during the maize marketing season Katete district had only planned to purchase 360,000 x 50kg bags of maize.

Col Kaisa further said due to the overwhelming produce government had to stretch its budget by allowing farmers to continue selling their produce to agency, adding that Katete district also ended up buying double the amount of bags planned.

The DC explained that because of this the district also experienced that shortage of empty grain bags.

Yesterday, scores of farmers trooped to the FRA depot in Katete demanding payment for their maize or to be given back their grain so that they could sell it elsewhere.

Nason Phiri of Vulamukoko told ZANIS in Katete that it was unfortunate that the district has not received any share from the money that government recently released to pay the farmers.

Mr Phiri said farmers wanted to get their money for maize back if the depot manager could not give them a convincing answer as to why they were not getting paid.

He said the workers at the depot run away and closed the gates instead of explaining to the farmers what the situation was.

Mr Phiri said it was unfair for government to continue delaying the payments when the rainy season was already in and farmers were depending on the same money to pay for farming inputs.

He explained that most farmers have not collected the farming inputs as they do not have money to pay for the Farmer Input Support program (FISP).

8 COMMENTS

  1. Farmers have been conned. PF has stolen their money because FRA has already sold the maize to millers and been paid for it. Is the money being used to fund Vodka Chakolwa Lungu’s campaign?

  2. Farmers are bearing the brunt of the economic mismanagement by the PF regime. They got their priorities wrong and made a huge mistake by buying all that crop. Foreign grain marketing companies who were paying a good price for maize were discouraged after government put an export ban in season 2013, this compounded in a lot of maize stuck in the country together with a bumper crop. Col. Kaiza should be truthful to the farmers as most of them in Katete have not even received Compound D under FISP due to delayed payment. FRA also need to investigate why the storage sheds built all over the country by the chinese cost 3 times more than normal, who chewed??? Another Don’t Kubeba.

  3. actually its not only katete farmers who are not yet paid in southern province we are told its wortse cos farmers who sold their maize in kalomo in the month of august have not yet been paid .not even part payment. iam sure the people of zambia now can cornfirm that pf was voted in by mistake. . it could be true what kalaluka is saying fra has sold the maize and given the money to kachasu lungu for his campaigns , that is why he doesnt want to follow lied down rules .vote for man who understand farming that is no other than hh the man of people. flight hh 2015

  4. Bane I was in Mongu when EL was campaigning and the whole town was filled with UPND. To them, it is like gaining Independence.
    Most likely HH will get the 50+1 Vote rate. Don’t insult me PF cadres, this is just my opinion.

  5. @Chalo: you are right. Vodka Chakolwa Lungu has no chance in WP. His situation is made worse with his posters that are in Bemba but plastered in WP. He must surely be targeting Bemba speakers only. Definitely not a nationalist.

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