The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) in Central Province says the 2017/2018 maize floor price must be proportionate to the cost of the product.
ZNFU Central Province Chairperson Khomani Ng’ambi told ZANIS in an interview that the union expects government to take into account the high cost of production before arriving at the price of the farm produce especially the maize grain.
He disclosed that consultative meetings have started between ZNFU and other stakeholders so that a rational maize floor price is arrived at considering the challenges characterized in the 2017/2018 farming season.
He reaffirmed that the maize floor price should absorb the cost of producing the commodity as a way of encouraging the farmers to continue producing.
Mr Ng’ambi has since appealed to the farmers in the province to exercise some patience and avoid selling their maize to unscrupulous briefcase buyers.
And Levy Mweemba, a farmer from Kabwe West has called on government to set up a good floor price in order to protect the farmers from exploitative private buyers.
Mr Mweemba said so far, private buyers are offering between K35 and K40 for a 50 kilogram bag of maize grain and described it as stealing from the poor farmers.
He said farmers are left with no option and become vulnerable to private buyers when the maize floor price by the government is not competitive because they depend on farming to earn a decent living.
Mr Mweemba also said there is need for the government to come to the rescue of the small scale farmers by awarding a reasonable floor price following the hike in the cost of farming inputs.
He observed that when government offers farmers less, it is only the private buyers that benefit from the maize business leaving farmers wallowing in absolute poverty.
He also called on government to control the price of farming inputs for the country to produce a bumper harvest in future.
Maize farming is the most awkward business because the selling price is only known after harvest. How do you plan when you have no idea of your return? No wonder commercial farmers just cultivate maize for stockfeed. Farmers need to know the price before planting so that they manage their inputs well, or grow alternative crops if maize isn’t viable. Until that is done, we will just be moving in circles
So few comments on an important subject. True the cost of producing maize has increased, maize is such an expensive crop to produce. I actually blame ZNFU president Jervis Zimba for failing Zambian farmers last year. This year we expect ZNFU to be proactive- they should go flat out to tell all farmers to boycott selling their maize to brief case buyers. They should urge consumers to buy maize and not mealie meal, the maize the consumers can take to their local hammer mill for processing is this not why the govt incested in the solar mills????- this a much cheaper option than buying over priced mealie meal from the millers and this will help push the price of maize up! But Jervis is a slow thinker who lacks imagination!
In fairness, Jervis did try his best. Even to the extent of him being threatened with Court Action by the FRA
The fact of the matter is this :
No matter how much verbal intervention we except from Jervis and others, the law of supply and demand will prevail.
If there is a 34% drop in yields this year, the FRA floor price will simply be academic
BTW. Has FRA got money to contemplate buying maize ?
@Mwape don’t cheat I’m a ZNFU member and I don’t ever recall FRA issuing such a statement threatening court action. Even if court action was taken as a Union president you have to be strong and stick to your ground, last year’s break even price of K75 per 50kg was denied to the farmer as a result we have had serious poverty in the rural areas because this income from maize sales is what supports the rural economy nation wide, as ive mentioned several times adding only K15 from to K60 per 50kg that FRA set the State could afford and in the long run would’ve boost the national economy as a whole. The principle of supply and demand here doesnt seem to apply with the millers who increased from K65 last year to now K85 for 25kg b.fast despite maize being in high supply last year and them…
Ctn…The principle of supply and demand here doesnt seem to apply with the greedy millers who increased from K65 last year to now K85 for 25kg b.fast despite maize being in high supply last year and them stocking up and buying this maize as low as K40 to K55-K60 per 50kg bag.
Whether FRA has money to buy maize is not the issue, them setting a floor price leads to a precedent for other buyers to follow and gives an indication to farmers of what their produce has been valued at. ZNFU pull up your socks or your members will abandon you for other farmers Unions you guys are not the only Farmers Union in Zambia!
Growing Maize has no profit…..let us all sit and buy maize for resell. Imagine you buy a 50 kg bag at K40 and then you sell at K70….this is great profit. This is what I will be doing …nomore growing maize.
all stupid comments