THE Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has assured Government that it will manage to buy enough maize required for national reserves and ensure that Zambia enjoys food security.
FRA executive director Chola Kafwabulula told journalists after visiting Zimba satellite depot yesterday that there is no need to worry about the country’s maize reserves.
“In terms of national reserves, we will buy sufficient stocks for national reserves. We don’t have to worry about this…we are going to be secure in terms of food,” Mr Kafwabulula said.
In the last three weeks, the FRA has been buying maize from farmers across the country. The agency has so far purchased 146, 828 metric tonnes of maize. Last year, within the same period, the FRA only bought 119,000 metric tonnes.
He said if the trend continues, the agency is likely to buy more maize this year compared to last year.
Mr Kafwabulula said according to statistics, the FRA has so far bought more maize from the Northern Province.
“The highest purchase is from Northern province. So far we have bought about 33,000 metric tonnes from the 146, 828 metric tonnes countrywide….Western Province has recorded the lowest purchase so far,” he said.
He said despite its target of 500,000 metric tonnes of maize, the FRA will continue to buy the crop whenever the farmers supply it.
Meanwhile, private maize traders in Zimba are using defective scales to weigh the maize they are buying from local farmers.
One of the farmers Sylvia Rito, who has sold more than 300 x 50 kilogrammes of bags to the FRA, said farmers have lost a lot of maize through defective scales used by private traders.
“We waited for the FRA to buy our maize instead of selling to briefcase maize buyers. FRA scales are more accurate,” she said.
The Last time I visited the Ministry of Agriculture they had approved a Butter System for Luapula, Northen, Central, Muchinga and Eastern Provinces where they thought they could mop up Maize. Other Provinces either had low yields or Low on Stocks from Illegal Exports to Neighbouring Countries.
Butter System (Fertilizer and Seeds) because (Government, through FRA) doesn’t have money to pay the Farmers. Not only doesn’t Govt have money to give to FRA, but owes Finance and StanChart huge sums of Money lent to FRA.
Hopefully Mr. Kafwabulula you are telling the truth. The truth of the matter is that People have sold and are still selling tones and tones of maize to companies like CHC, Chimanga Changa etc. who are paying better than what you are offering. Right now a satellite depot for FRA in this area, they are buying less than 10 bags or nothing per day. Hunger is looming bane. All the maize will go to DRC.
This Govt is shameless when it comes to telling lies. This is simply another lie that will soon be exposed and this time they can’t even blame the MMD. The Govt is simply broke and the FRA has no money to either buy maize or pay the transporters to transport the maize. Ask any FRA deport or transporter and the message is the same “we are still waiting for money from Govt”. Now how does a department that had a budget allocation find itself waiting for money 8 months down the line.
The FRA is either broke or very corrupt in its practices on how it pays transporters. They still owe transporters from last years marketing season.