Sat, 05 Aug 2017 10:15:38 +0000
By BENNIE MUNDANDO
CONSULTATIONS on the possibility of increasing the maize floor price between the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) and the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) yesterday hit a snag as the two failed to reach a conclusive ending with FRA pledging to take the matter to its board.
Last week, ZNFU told farmers to hold on to their maize and not sell a single grain to the FRA until a meeting to resolve the commodity price between the two institution was held.
ZNFU contended that the K60 per 50-kilogramme bag price pegged by FRA was a mockery.
On Thursday, ZNFU president Jervis Zimba appealed to farmers to exercise patience as the union was exploring all possible channels of engagement with the FRA over the maize marketing floor price which he said was not cost-reflective and created room for exploitation. But in a joint statement yesterday, ZNFU and FRA said the matter had been referred to the FRA board and that a final decision would be made within next week.
“FRA and ZNFU met today (yesterday) to discuss the farmers’ grievances over the FRA maize purchase price of K60 for a 50-kg bag of white maize. After
a lengthy deliberation, the FRA management pledged to call for an urgent FRA board meeting to present the farmers’ position early next week and a final decision will be announced within the course of next week,” read a short, joint press release.
Meanwhile, Mr. Zimba appealed to the farmers to exercise a little more patience as they wait for the impending decision by FRA over the matter.
