Some angry farmers in Mkushi District of Central Province nearly beat up Food Reserve Agency (FRA) officers over the delay in paying them their monies.
Mkushi District Commissioner (DC) Christopher Chibuye confirmed the development in an interview with ZANIS in Mkushi District yesterday.
Mr. Chibuye said he personally rushed to the FRA satellite depot to diffuse the tense situation which had built up.
He said the incident was sparked following rumours that FRA had commenced paying farmers for the maize they had supplied to the agency in the nearby districts of Kapiri Mposhi and Serenje.
Mr. Chibuye cautioned farmers against resorting to violence and unrest.
He said Government was doing everything possible to ensure that farmers are paid quickly, and stressed that there was no need for farmers to make irrational decisions based on rumours.
He stated that the maize marketing season in the district was facing several challenges such as delayed payments as well as shortage of empty grain bags.
Mr. Chibuye, however, stressed that his office was making frantic efforts to liaise with the FRA Secretariat in its quest to find workable solutions that would promptly address these challenges.
Narrating his ordeal, FRA Marketing Assistant Zaccheus Manda who was one of the officers who escaped the wrath of the farmers, said the irate farmers had threatened to beat him up after accusing him and his colleagues of holding on to FRA money which was supposed to be paid to them.
He said he made futile attempts to explain to the mob which was convinced that payments had commenced in the neighbouring districts.
Meanwhile, the FRA has bought a total of 542,441 by 50kg bags valued at K35, 258,665 in Mkushi district.
This is according to data obtained at FRA Mkushi Branch.
K1.5bn was allocated for purchase of maize in the district.
ZANIS
We are waiting for the euro bond cash to pay farmers
And retirees, suppliers, council workers…..
Sata and Chikwanda don’t know anything about farming. People from the North abhor the land. Look around the outskirts of Lusaka and you will find a lot of Easterners, Westerners and Southerners engaged in farming . Northerners want to live mu ma yard Like Sata & co. So don’t expect Agriculture to be a priority with this cabal. It’s not in their DNA.
LT are you sure 542,411 X 50 bags can have the value of K35, 258,665. Do not under play issues
Please Sata pay our farmers.
Farmers really suffer to grow their maize as well as selling it and I dont see the reason why govt should even waste time to pay them off. I know the next season will be a tricky one because most of the farmers are showing no interest in growing either cotton or maize because of the treatment they are receiving from buyers in this case govt and infesters in the name of foreigners like Dunavant.
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