Sat, 05 Aug 2017 10:36:46 +0000 IT is regrettable that the high level “indaba” between the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to review this year’s maize price hit a snag. There is great need for high level intervention by the major marketing institutions to find a more productive way forward to serve the best interest of the farmers who stand to lose much as the country gravitates towards a market driven system. It is certainly not practical to expect the government to finance the current crop. At K60 per bag the government would require K3, 100,000,000 and at K85 it would require K5, 270,000,000. This is impossible. The nationwide expression of concern from various stakeholders at the low maize market price set by FRA, must be seen in context. The pressing question is: How will farmers sell their maize before the next farming season? Do they have storage capacity, […]
