Luwingu district commissioner Patrick Chanda has appealed to the ministry of agriculture to help farmers in the area to find the market that can buy large quantities beans at reasonable price.
Mr. Chanda says this is because beans growers are struggling to find market to sell their commodity in Luwingu district due to lack of market.
He lamented that although the farmers were in 2016 advised to diversify to growing cash crops such as beans, soya beans, groundnuts but there is no market to sale their commodity.
The District Commissioner has for this reason appealed to the Minister of Agriculture Dora Siliya to help find market on behalf of the farmers of Luwingu district.
Luwingu is one of the districts in the northern that has produced large quantities of beans this 2016-2017 farming season.
In another development, Mr. Chanda revealed a chairperson a named cooperative society who is engaged by world food programme (WFP) to purchase 75 metric tons representing 1, 500 by 50kg bags of beans in the area was this this morning beat up by farmers.
The chairperson was beaten up as he announced that he was not accepting more as the cooperatives society has met the sufficient number of bags required by WFP.
The announcement was received with mixed filling some farmers came as far as Shimumbi area about 115km which hired vehicles.
The angry farmers resorted to beating the chairperson indiscriminately adding that they had nowhere to take commodity.
And speaking on behalf of the farmers Martin Kasenge said farmers in Luwingu have produced bumper harvest for both beans and maize and they have nowhere to sale the commodity.
He appealed to the president Edgar Lungu to help find business who could buy the beans from the peasant farmers in the district.
A check at the market farmers have resorted to selling a gallon of beans between k15.00 and k20 while a 50kg bag of beans is costing between k150 and k200.00 and the same gallon of maize is selling between k4.50 and k6.00 and 50kg bag is costing between k45.00 and k60.00 respectively.
Can we practise politics of maturity .In any institution if someone crosses a red line he or she should expect to be disciplined Mr kambwili crossed too many red lines which demanded for action but PF overlooked everything.He should just carry his own cross.UPND should stop mortgaging this country to other countries only Zambians will make HH president if they wish not South African indisplicined Malema.
How is this connected to the beans issue?
Bring the beans to Lusaka we shall buy it.
Even people have become lazy now…you have produce and you dont know where to sell it. Are telling me boarding schools can not buy all this?
Mutale mwiinga you seem not to have a grip as to who is mortgaging the country. The upnd is in OPPOSITION and cannot mortgage the Country. As you admit that the country is mortgaged then it must have been mortgaged by the incumbent government led by the PF. Am sure your masters are not happy with your pathetic attempt at trying to paint upnd in a bad light but end up showing that its your party that is mortgaging the country. Try harder next time and blog on the headline topic or dont bother at all.
Pity that the Chairman was beaten up by the angry farmers.
The District commissioners plea should be taken seriously and his demand should go beyond buyers to establishing local processing plants for such nutritious products.
Luwingu farmers are well known for their hard work in bean and groundnut farming. Due to bad roads into the interior they have little market.
If the Commissioner works hand in hand with the area MP and other stake holders, Luwingu will be a hub of business.