Friday, March 29, 2024

Catholic Commission for Justice welcomes calls to revisit FRA maize floor price

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The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in North-western province has commended President Edgar Lungu for advising the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to revise the maize floor price from the K65 per 50 kilogram bag that was earlier announced.

CCJP Provincial Coordinator, John Kalusa told ZANIS in Solwezi today that the current floor price cannot be compared to the cost of inputs that farmers have incurred during the farming season.

Mr. Kalusa added that private buyers are paying K75 in Kasempa district and should FRA not revise the price, private buyers will also reduce their prices and this will affect the farmers negatively.

Mr Kalusa has since urged the agency to quickly revise the price of maize.

Meanwhile, a maize farmer in Solwezi district, Lukumo Kikima said that the agency needs to understand that some farmers were affected by the fall of armyworms that affected most yields in various parts of the country.

Mr. Kikima noted that the cost of production should always be considered when deciding on the final maize floor price.

And Solwezi district Farmers Association Chairperson, Merian Kalala has welcomed the move for the revision of the maize price.

Ms. Kalala said if the price is revised it will motivate farmers to plant more maize in the next farming season.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Still not a solution, expecting the president to bail you out all the time. Strong and functional co-operatives are the best way. Not those beggers’ clubs where you just get a card and use political cadres to talk for you but co-operatives with fee paying members that are capable of hiring qualified people to find solutions.

  2. I agree with the statement above – Strong and functional cooperatives and may I add farmers unions are the key. The market has been distorted mainly by millers who have influenced the govt for years with the price of mealie meal being used to in effect put the govt to ransom on reducing the maize price. Shortsightedness and greediness of these crooked millers is killing farmers. Surely money is the root of all evil.

  3. Ctn…cooperative and effective farmers unions such as the newly created Small Scale Farmers Union should press farmers to sell directly to consumers in order to cut out the big millers. They should form partnerships with organisations such as the Consumers Association of Zambia, Marketeers Association of Zambia etc on how best to sell directly the maize to consumers. The solar hammer mill plants must come on board, other small scale hammer mill operators must organise themselves. This is the way to find lasting solutions.

    • Remember that article last week about maize? Here we’re standing still because of Mr maize. Unfortunately our people live like a family that only eats without asking the father where and he gets resources to feed, clothe, educate and entertain them. I bet you if the government introduced the welfare system as we see in western world, most Zambians would abandon work and live solely on government handouts.

  4. Zambian Citizen you are totally right! Farmers expecting someone to fix the prices for their produce is tantamount to accepting slavery!!

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