The Food Reserve Agency, (FRA), has assured farmers that it will continue buying crops until the end of October this year, despite the Agency having already met its target of buying maize.
FRA Public Relations Coordinator, John Chipandwe has told ZNBC News in a statement that all depots across the country are still open for maize buying.
Mr. Chipandwe observed that farmers, who have not yet sold the grain to the Agency, are panicking following the announcement that FRA has met the maize purchase target for this year.
He has explained that the FRA depots have been overwhelmed with farmers delivering maize for fear that the agency would stop buying the crop.
Mr. Chipandwe says the FRA had run out of empty grain bags due to the increasing number of farmers, who are rushing to sell their maize, as was the case at the FRA Simaango Depot in Kazungula District.
He said to help the situation, the Agency yesterday dispatched three-hundred-and-twenty-five-thousand empty grain bags to the Southern Province.
He has told ZNBC News that additional empty grain bags will be dispatched to the province next week as suppliers continue to deliver empty grain bags to the FRA.
Mr. Chipandwe stated that the bags that have been reported to burst at Simango depot do not belong to FRA but that they are properties of the farmers and they are of low quality.
And at what price is the FRA buying the maize?
Ios it 220 kwacha as promised by our beloved Bally after 1 September?
Create opportunities for them to export this maize. Or sell it to millers who can make meali meal and export
This would help reduce expenditure on the side of government, increase revenue, bring in foreign exchange, create jobs and in turn all this will lead to economic growth of the country.
We need reforms in the agri sector with more role of the private sector. FRA has already achieved its target, there is no need for it to continue buying and hence bleed the government finances when that maize can be exported or sold to Millers.
Where are our leaders ???
To who ever managed this entire machinery resulting to grain, grain everywhere grain…Job well done! Do it again please.
As one of the farmers we need help from the government concerning the prices of maize. The maize prices is just kept on reducing where by the imput we where buying at a high cost
This is discouraging farmers