Some farmers in Chipata district in Eastern province have opted to hoard their maize hoping for a higher price by the private sector .
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Chipata District Farmers Association (CDFA) coordinator Virgil Malambo  says some farmers in the area are infact opposed to the K65 per 50 kilogram bag being offered by Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
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ZANIS reports that Mr Malambo said in an interview that the farmers are disappointed with Government’s failure to increase the maize price and stated that the announced K65 floor price is the bargaining for the commodity.
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He noted that private buyers cannot buy at a higher price compared to Government.
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He stated that it could have been better if last year’s market floor price of K85 had been maintained saying the K25 reduction is a mockery because most of the farmers did not benefit from the subsidized inputs under the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP).
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The CDFA coordinator said the farmers spent a lot on inputs and that they may not recover their monies even after the marketing season.
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He said that farmers only make money once in a year and that this is after they sale their produce and that it is disheartening that they will this year incur losses.
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He has since appealed to Government to consider the plight of poor farmers who solely depend on maize production to make ends meet.
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Mr Malambo said most of them will not be able to pay school fees for their children and that this could lead them to drop out of school.
The floor price is a joke. Come on you PF lundeniko
Those in agriculture extension told the farmers that the price would be low as the supply was high. Simple economics. A gross margin of maize shows that K60 is not bad. What farmers need to do is increase their productivity. e.g produce 100 x 50kg bags of maize from a hector. This would result in them making K6000 compared to the K85 for 20 bags per hector giving K1700
Govt Cannot Intervene Since Elections Are Over. It Is Time Zambians Woke Up From Slumber And Impeach This Govt Which Is Failing Us Everyday.
They Are Celebrating That They Have Reduced Mealie Meal Prices At The Expense Of Our Hardworking Farmers. Mwapya Next Time You Will Be Shamelessly Borrowing Money To Import Maize. Continue Playing Games With Farmers You Will See.
Listen to me you GRZ. Never think of baring us from exporting our Maize. Since you can’t intervene in the markets for market forces are in play. Let Farmers find their own market in other countries. Don’t bar us from exporting.
‘PAYA FARMER’ is in Vogue! There’s no comprehensive and holistic Agricultural policy that encompasses: FISP, EXTENSION SERVISES and MARKETING that can motivate a poor Farmer. How can a peasant farmer hoard maize with all the huge costs associated with Storage such as fumigation! Agriculture is haphazardly carried out by incompetents who have NOT even a back yard vegetable garden! It goes without saying that the Govt. wish to grow Agriculture in Zambia will remain a pipe dream!K60 per bag? YANYOKO?
Well done Chipata
Will diversification ever work when agriculture is not given proper support? The farmers have every right to hoard their maize, though they might end up losing their produce to weevils and other grain boring insects. It’s a zero sum game.
This is RB at work inciting his supporters to boycourt what Government has offered FARMING IS A BUSINESS U CHOOSE NOT TO LIMA the following year and import milisi from malawi
Can someone give me the cost of reproducing maize in a Ha?