The Food Reserve Agency -FRA- has announced that it will buy a 50 Kilogram bag of white maize at 60 Kwacha under the 2017 crop Marketing exercise.
FRA Board Chairman Joe Simachela announced the 2017 Crop Marketing Arrangements at a media briefing held at FRA depot in Lusaka this morning.
Mr. Simachela said FRA will also buy Soybeans at 130 Kwacha per 50 Kilograms.
He has further announced that the agency will buy Paddy Rice at 70Kwacha per 40-kilogram bag.
Mr. Simachela said the purchase will be restricted to 500,000 metric tonnes of grain as National Strategic Reserve in line with Government policy guidelines
Mr. Simachela said FRA will no longer sell grain to millers adding that the agency expects that they will buy their own stock.
He however stated that the FRA will instead enhance community sales and sell to vulnerable communities and programmes such as Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit.
Other are the Ministry of General Education home grown school feeding programme, Correctional facilities and hospitals.
Mr. Simachela said FRA expects farmers to adhere to general practice of ensuring that they clean the maize at frame stands to avoid congestion.
He added that all FRA personnel and other stakeholders need to uphold prudence, transparency and accountability for public resources.
And Mr. Simachela said FRA has for the fifth consecutive year maintained a stock loss of one percent.
He said Seven hundred and sixty satellite depots are available this year.
Meanwhile, FRA Executive Director Chola Kafwabulula said the agency has a 942 million Kwacha budget this year.
Mr. Kafwabulula said the agency is prepared and has 19 million empty grain bags.
And Mr. Kafwabulula said 100,000 metric tonnes of maize has been authorised for export and that FRA expects to raise 13 million United States Dollars.
He explained that the destination for maize exports includes Congo DR, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda.
Mr. Kafwabulula has announced that 26 Zambian companies and three foreign companies have been engaged to export the maize.
This is not good for farmers, last year 50kgs was seeling at K85 and this year it has been reduce to K60… what is the logic? Was last year’s price just a campaign price?
@Wezi Last year kwacha was K14pin, this year is K9pin. Whats the logic?
This right time to buy maize for your family back home.
10 bag = us80.
So if you get paid by-weekly you can buy 20 bags per month.
Last year’s price was to dupe them as Zambians are docile people…they would vote for you if you turned up with those old style Mercedes Benz Chibuku tankers the day before Polling day in a constituency and offered them free drinks on tap.
This price of 1.2 per kg is too low. Once again the fat Greek millers and their Zambian middle conmen (briefcase maize buyers) are the ones to benefit!
Mutati and Dora why are you not providing the right advice!!!!
We needed the price to be at least at K1.5 per Kg!!!! Who will farm this coming year with such low prices?????
No profit at all. U need to have 100 bags to get K6000.00 unfairly small.
@Nostradamus: the farmers bought inputs (seed+fertlizer) last year when US$1 was at K14, the reason why the price should have been increased to around K90 in order for them to recover their money. You see the logic?
Buying at 60kr bag or 1200kr tonne which is roughly Us $136.5tonne . We are selling 100000tonnes @us $13million which is $130 per tonne is that good business. If we are selling lasts crop whic was bought ar 85kr bag thennwe are even worse .
Good observations cretin above. Exactly my calculations. Fra must be joking.
When are we going to diversify from this costly crop…there is absolutely nothing for Peasant Farmers..the only people who benefit are the elite and politicians from this maize in Haulage, Fertilizer contracts, the rotten corruption at FRA.
Indeed Last Year’s Price Was A Campaign Price.
Pf Regime Only Has Time To Help Zambians During The Year Of Elections By Doing Everything For Campaign Rather Than Putting Intrest Of Zambians.
They Have Reduced The Number Of Deports And Now They Have Finally Reduced The Price To K1.2/kg. This Is An Insult And Bumper Harvest Is Meaningless!!!
K60 Per Bag, U Sell In August And Recieve Your Payment In March, If These Farmers Were Based In Zimbabwe, Mugabe Could Be Providing Them Good Markets. Fact!!!!!
That campaign price is the reason ..we have budget deficits left right and centre..utter recklessness!!
Simple economics will tell you that when you have surplus, the price goes down and if you have a deficit as was the case last year the price goes up. Most of you making comments on this issue know nothing about agriculture apart from time to eat. FRA had to increase the price locally because smuggled maize fetched very high prices in neighbouring countries e.g K120/50kg in Malawi and K200/50kg in Zimbabwe. If the so called educated UNPD members don’t understand something so simple, then Zambia is better off with then in the opposition.
Theres No Way Lundazi Can Have 5 Depots But It Has Produced The Tonnage Of 280,000 Metric Tonnes. And You Buy Those Crops At K60? How Many Farmers Are You Going To Buy Frm?
Fra Also Said They Are Going To Buy Crops Like Beans, G/nuts, Sunflower, Soyabeans, Etc Why Are They Not On Your List?
But How Come These Guys Did Not Mention Their Prices?
Fra Has Now Become The Club Of The Rich And Politicians, Farmers Will Forever Loose Confidence In Them And Will Opt To Be Smuggling Their Harvest Across The Fully Permeable Zambian Borders Into Other Countries To Find A Better Price That Can Outweigh Their Expenses Spent On Buying Inputs During Farming.
Reckless Pf Regime, Very Cancerous To Zambia. 2021, They Must Be Chopped Off To Save Our Zambia.
Poor farmer will sell to FRA ….Lazy Lungu and Dora will say we have too much excess maize lets sale some, then use their proxy companies to buy that very maize for export to neighbouring countries at $20 a bag.
-50 Kilogram bag of white maize at 60 Kwacha under the 2017 crop Marketing exercise. This is in dollars effectively: 1 $ = K8,853.88(K8.54)at today’s rate = $6.79cents.
How can FRA buy a 50kg bag of maize at $6.79? How much are the input costs? It takes a long time before harvesting maize. It is clear the farmers are just wasting their time. This is another day light robbery by PF -FOO-Ls
@Alibabs, So medicinal marijuana is best optional.
No Commercial farmer will waste time, land and diesel growing maize unless they have pigs to feed.
Marijuana on the otherhand is a no nonsense ca$h crop..you do not need fertilizers such as urea and ammonia or weeding ..immediately seeds are sowed ..call your client’s in Holland to place orders on first come first serve at above international market price of course. No wasting time with utterly corrupt and mismanaged FRA and selfish Politicians!!
It is okay because no matter what he does, Hazaluza Hagain.
Read my post above we are selling it for less than what we are buying it…….. now if certain companies are authorized to be the exporters how are they making a profit figures dont lie. So what price ard the exporters purchasing it for.
Comment:the reason is simple really. if FRA buys maize at your preferred amount, also millers will have a reason to sale Thier products at a hire price at the pretext of the buying price, so FRA can either buy low in order to maintain the buying price or they can buy high a d let the consumers feel the pinch …either way someone will be affected…it’s either farmers or the consumers. none the less if you gauge the options you will realise farmers have other options if selling outside the country, which had a it’s ban lifted and the 10% scaped off to give them a better advantage.so really it’s a farmers choice to accept the 60 or to sale outside, either way the farmer will still make the required profits
Once again…..
Don’t forget that k60/bag is only a floor price for Fra and farmers are not obliged to sell to Fra. They can sell to anyone at there own price even upto k100. The only negative reason is that they will be exploited by briefcase buyers. Our maize is non gmo and should therefore cost a lot. Govt should’ve secured market for farmers and acted as middle brokers so that farmers can gain reasonably. I am disappointed with the price they have exported it which is less than the production value. Fra executive are not thinkers. Very dull always and only interested in stealing. I know ecl will see through their scheme and reverse this stupidity.
The story of selling maize at k 60/90 kg make a very sad reading for our peasant farmers in rural areas as they face unjust terrains year and year out . In fact its worth to note that today cereals price at GRAIN south Africa is as follow……
-MAIZE R 1890.10/Tone which is R 170.11/ 90 kg ( $ 13.10 / 90 kg – or k 105.32/ 90 kg )
-WHEAT R 4484.14/ tone which is R 403.56 / 90 kg. ( k 300.00/ 90 kg )
-SOYA BEANS R 4736 /tone which is R 426.24 /90 kg.( k 327.78/90 kg ).
My arguments on unrealistic maize price is based on the facts that –
1. Farmers move long distances looking for the inputs like seeds ,fertilizers etc as we don’t have old facilities like NAMBOARD anymore.
2. They buy these inputs at very exorbitant prices making farming a risky business indeed.
3. They…
If you are talking about peasants your argument is misplaced. These farmers get inputs which is highly subsidised and it is delivered right on their door step. Even the army worm treatment was done free for them.
d ngambi,
Read the story again and this time pay attention to the units.K60/90kg? Zambia stopped packing anything in 90kg bags as soon as UNIP was ejected.
Ngambi its 50kg not 90kg
But your point still holds
South Africa price for maize is $145 per ton and they are complaining.
How does FRA offer $92 per ton to our peasant farmers !!!
Why is government dictating the so called floor price? Sell to Congole.
I FARM IN MKUSHI. I DONT SELL TO FRA BECAUSE I BUY MY INPUTS CASH. THE PRICE OF MAIZE BY FRA IS VERY LOW.
I DONT DEPEND ON POLITICIAN TO TELL ME HOW TO MANAGE MY FARM.
ZAMBIANS MUST FREE THEMSELVES FROM THESE POLTICIANS INFLUENCE.
PLAN, PLAN,,, IMPLEMENT …. NEVER TRUST THESE POLITICIANS….
TRUST GOD…..
JEWS ARE BLESSED PEOPLE . ZAMBIANS CAN DO IT
FRA wiil buy 500000 tonnes yet bumper crop of 3.5 million tonne so 3milllion tonne available to briefcase buyers. Peasant farmers dont have connections to export direct.even government reverses price to higher fra still only buying 500 000 tonnes. Farmers left wth 3million so buyers sit and wait till farmers panic and get it for below cost.
Maybe governmdnt will increase offer after IMF loan. It appears that there is little money in the treasury so minimum tonnage at minimum price.
HH oval head do you ever get to the spruce goose.
Kiki. Where is ka julie perth
Hh ***** why call me a cretin if you agree with me.
Contact HH oval head i dont give a hoot withdraw post do what ever censorship you do on this site to protect your favoured ones. Read all my posts not one is against zambia but go on do your censorship. Tired of you lot letting favoured ones comment on others then right of reply is subject to moderation. Me a cretin and u don bother to question. What sort of media are you
Sorry mate i didn’t mean it when i calked you cretin
PF apaya Farmer
@HH OVAL HEAD not every body got inputs which is highly subsidized and delivered on their door step. Even the army worm treatment was done free for a few people. Actually the said medicine was not even working we had to improvise other methods.