The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has disclosed that it has so far paid out 306 billion kwacha to farmers countrywide with the latest release of 80 billion kwacha for the maize sold to the Agency.
The Agency said this is contrary to opposing views being issued by a cross section of society that FRA is not paying farmers who have sold their maize to it.
FRA Public Relations Officer Mwamba Siame in a statement to ZANIS in Lusaka today disclosed that another 150 billion kwacha would be released next week for maize purchase adding that the funds would be disbursed every week until all the farmers have been paid.
Mrs. Siame said the funds were a combination of Government injection and loans accessed from banks recently.
She revealed that the agency has also engaged paying banks and corporations across the country to ensure that their system remained alert to the huge amounts that were to be paid out to farmers.
Mrs. Siame however urged farmers countrywide to contact their warehouse managers in their respective areas to establish when they should go to the bank to receive their payments.
In another development, Mrs. Siame disclosed that FRA had so far exported 82, 000 metric tonnes of maize to Zimbabwe and projected that market prospects would continue to improve and offer a better price.
She said the crop mopping exercise to secure maize stocks was on coarse following the extension of the crop purchasing period to 31st October 2010.
ZANIS
A loud explosion, probably involving two vehicles, has occurred in the central district of Abuja, the federal capital. The area is about 10 minutes away from the Eagles Square venue of the Nigeria at 50 celebration. There are unconfirmed reports of some deaths in the incident.