The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) will buy as much maize as it bought last farming season.
FRA said this is on account that there has been a reduction in funds given to the agency in this year's national budget.
The agency bought 400,000 metric tonnes of maize last farming season and is expected to buy 50,000 metric tones this season.
FRA Executive Director, Anthony Mwanaumo said buying points will also be reduced from last year's 700 to less than 100 this year.
Dr. Mwanaumo said the reduction in funds allocated to his organisation this year has presented a big challenge to the agency.
He was speaking when he opened an FRA annual planning meeting in Chisamba - Monday.
And Mr. Mwanaumo said most of the farmers have been paid for the maize they supplied to the agency.
[ZNBC]
Questonable journalism. 1st statement or paragraph appears to contradict the rest of the story.
# 1, you are so spot-on.
I wonder who edits these stories.
Its pretty embarassing.
Ok back to the point, whats the government trying to achieve by lessening the funding to FRA?
I hope the country has enough food reserves otherwise we’ll be shooting ourselves i the foot.
And by the way, why not give enough money to FRA to buy enough maize which we can export for a profit?
I have mentioned this before, the Government has flip-flop policies as far as agriculture is concerned. They claim to be committed to agricultural development but what is on paper is something else: reduction of funding to FRA; farmers complaining of non-payment; proposed scrapping of the Fertiliser Support Programme…NCZ has its own issues…while the overall economic growth has averaged 5 percent since 2001, agriculture has continued to perform well below average at 1 percent growth since 2001
The editor was sleeping on duty. its suppossed to be FRA will not buy as much maize…….Ya poor planning boma. is the govt too blind to see that we had floods. are they comfortable with what we have in the silos? pliz pliz why allocate less money to FRA? ha ha ha ha that Agriculture in the back bone of the country? why starve it then. how do u xpect the back to perform if it doesnt have enough power and food. ma ma out Agric Minister. By the way who is the chap in charge on Agric?
Correction FRA to get less maize on credit , they never pay cash it’s just been reported that they will soon start paying farmers in kalomo for last years maize.