The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has called on the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to urgently give its full position on maize procurement in this marketing season.
We have noted with concern that hundreds of bags of maize belonging to small scale farmers are going to waste at some named Food Reserve Agency (FRA) depot in various districts due to lack of proper warhorses or sheds.
In a statement released to the media by CTPD’s Trades and Development Researcher Emmanuel Muma, the Centre said that it has noticed that over the years, several bags of maize grain are usually stored outside FRA depots covered with tarpaulin tents and subjected to the sun an indication of lack of storage facilities by the Agency.
The Centre further said that post-harvest loss is very costly not only to farmers but also on the national treasury, adding that for a long time, loss of harvested crops due to degradation in quality and quantity of food production has been as a result of inadequate Storage Facilities.
“FRA should therefore limit its purchases to its capacity because clearly, it does not have adequate storage facilities with improved technologies to support grain or food storage for a longer period of time, ” the statement read.
A CTPD close check across the country reveals that most FRA storage facilities including silos are in a deplorable state and do not have adequate modern technological equipment to maintain cleanliness, temperature, and humidity and the Centre urged Government to consider the following recommendations moving forward.
- There is a need to immediately conduct an analysis of FRA’s storage capacity, including the state and conditions of the storage structures.
- Limit FRA’s crop purchases to its capacity accordingly and allow the private sector to mop out extra grain.
- More storage facilities should be constructed to bridge the gap and maintenance of the existing storage structures and ensure that they are equipped with modern technological facilities.
The Centre concluded by saying that these measures will help to create a clear coordinated mechanism that realistically takes into account the capacity of the FRA and reduce recklessness in government expenditure.
There are just too many organization in Zambia. I get confused.
FRA has failed period. They need to restructure, its too much. How do you waste tax payers money like that? why did they buy more what they could safely handle?
Farmers equally have a problem. They have cooperatives but can’t work together to market their produce.
Even when they are trained to develop Cooperatives to make them viable communal business platforms, they can’t work together unless they are receiving a gift. Afterwards, they stay separate from the co-op. Federation of Cooperatives and Cooperative department have job to do.
FRA probably has no funds to purchase empty grain bags since it was not budgeted for in the last budget.
I still wonder why mealie meal is still expensive when we have alot of maize ?… It’s a shame really…
I still wonder why mealie meal is still expensive when we have alot of maize ?… It’s a shame really…
#5 I didn’t know the answer until I went into farming. It’s quite expensive and for mealie to become cheap, we have to go to the Unip days style where GRZ buys on behalf of consumers… you call it subsidies?
I really support Lungus way of handling price of mealie meal. The current price is the true value of mealie without government interference. So Zambians should just get used to it.growing maize is not cheap so don’t expect mealie to be cheap. Even in time of bumper haverst. The farmer will not sale his maize for a song. He has to factor in the cost imputs and Labour.
#18 You actually understand the maize production mathematics. Bumper harvest doesn’t mean the maize was grown cheaply. The only way you can beat the cost of mealie meal is by growing at least a Lima instead of spending time at a bar counter.
These are Critical Times for the Zambia Food Balance Sheet and Supplies There should be a high level response like we have seen the use military Trucks to make available fuel supplies to stations in the UK and avoid crisis to unfold You can purchase the maize in future contracts and issue people with to settle for fiscal delivery meal the maize in the ZNS and other Service meal Plants then Export to DRC and make a return to save the people.Make available the grain bags collect the maize Zambia army or Zaf or Zns Give people Future contracts of Forward Promissory notes and save them instead of waiting for allocations and money