The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has called on government to facilitate a market within the region where local farmers can sale their remaining maize following the Food Reserve Agency’s decision to close its maize marketing season.
UPND Chairman for Rural Reconstruction and Development Moono Mapani says most farmers especially in rural areas still have maize stocks, wondering where they will take their stock.
Mr. Mapani says it is a mockery for the Minister of Agriculture to tell farmers to hold on to their maize until December when the price of the commodity is expected to go up.
He says if the government means well for the local farmers, they should consider facilitating a market for the farmers within the region where they can sale their produce.
Mr. Mapani has told QTV News that even the private sector cannot manage to buy the remaining maize stocks from farmers, thus the need for government to help find an alternative market for their produce
Finally a comprehensive and sensible statement from UPND, thank heavens for this statement! Yes this is what the farmers have wanted! We need the opposition to raise this matter as they now appear to be doing! Watching from the sidelines in silence while people’s livelihood is stolen by middlemen and millers is the same as being part of this act of theft! Do not wait for problems to get worse and then gain political mileage from these errors the ruling party make but rather confront them as you see them develop, what you should seek is the best for all Zambians and not just to rule for the sake of ruling when you do this people will begin to notice that surely maybe these guys care!
This is really sad. Everything has to be government. They give free fertilizer and othe inputs and agin they have to sell the maize fro the farmaer who will just sit back and watch everything happen by remote control. Why don’t the tomato, soya bean, rice or wheat farmers do the same???
The best way forward is to start forming strong cooperatives. Like the commercial farmers. These cooperatives will employ professionals that will facilitate group storage facilities, marketing and finances. That is the way forward, not this communist rubbish by upnd. If farmers cannot sell all their maize, first they need storage facilities.
I pity your thinking. You absolutely have no idea about small scale farming. Form cooperatives? These are peasant farmers. They don’t have the capacity. That is why we had NAMBORD during UNIP days and Rupiah Banda was the General Manager. Ask him what he did. Then came ZCF. How come MMD/PF is failing the peasant farmers? Appoint me Minister of Agriculture and see how I can turn this situation around.
An appointment is purely on merit. What is so difficult about mapping areas, identifying farmers and putting them into groups??? Where did the whites come from, didn’t they have peasant farmers as well??? Even Mwanawasa didn’t design FISP as a perpetual support mechanism but a gradual process that would see farmers graduate from peasant to medium/large scale farmers. Your “African can’t do it” mentality is what is wrong. The Asians and South Americans rose above that mentality, why can’t we??????
Telling a peasant farmers to hold on to their stock until December is a sign of total failure and disgrace. These people don’t have any means of incomes. How are they going to sustain their livelihood? It’s not their problem that Government doesn’t have adequate storage facilities. People need to start thinking in the so called Ministry of Agriculture.
Peasant farmers can get value Chinese storage facilities if they put their minds to it with the facilitation of government. The problem is the farmers have been asking government for the same things since 1964!! That is why I believe cooperatives, with government providing training through agric. experts is the way forward. Look how the Boer farmers get even oranges to as far a place as Zambia. Cooperatives!!!
We are in a free market economy. it is not the responsibility of GRZ to find markets for farmers. Government made its intention very clear at the beginning of the marketing season that they would only buy 500,000 mt for strategic reserves at a specific price. Govt is not in the business of doing business imwe! The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) in its own wisdom advised farmers not to sell maize to FRA but look for alternative markets with better prices. ZNFU should now find the market for their members. My advice is for farmers to grow for the market and not involve emotions when making investment decisions
Thank you, Mushimba. Lombe (MA), the ball is in your court….
I have buyer for 50000mt at k 1300 per tone email me [email protected]
too backward thinking, GOVERNMENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE TO FIND MARKET FOR MAIZE, IMAGINE U CRY FOR INPUTS, WE GIVE EACH FARMER 20BAGS THEN U WANT US TO FIND MARKET FOR U THUS ASKING TOO MUCH , PLEASE SALE TO ANY PIG THAT WANTS TO EAT YOUR MAIZE
Mushimba and others. You are indeed correct in that the free market must prevail.
Exactly a year ago, FRA purchased maize from grain dealers at $260 per ton and sold it to millers at a 40% discount.
To manipulate the price the same Government banned maize exports to control the maize price.
The same Government, failing to tackle tax evasion by mines, instead lumped a 10% export tax to discourage maize going out of the country.
Where were all of you to teach free market then ???? Was it Governments job to reduce mealie meal prices ? But its not Governments job to support fatmers ehen their crop prices plummet 65%.
Factually for every farmer out there let me put this into your thick sun bsked heads. Learn your lesson !!!!
Whatever you choose to plant, if you choose to plant, you are on your own. So think for your own soul and tour family and do whatever maximises your income.
If you are farming thinking of the nations food security, or thinking you are in a noble cause, forget it. When faced between 1,5 million peasant farmers wanting good maize prices vs 17 million mealie meal eaters who want cheap food, the law of numbers prevails.
Dont expect medals for your endeavours. Wake up if you want to come out of the poverty of grass huts and eating mice and caterpillars !
Think with your pocket, not your patriotism
Everyone here is just making noise, Government has no obligation to purchase the corn and other produce from any farmer. It’s in their personal interest to be a farmer or find something else. You mean now these farmers will need an agent like it is in sports or entertainment business. So backwards move forward and start thinking outside the box