FARMERS CONFUSED
…Where will they sell their maize, soya next year? – Chimwendo
By Ludia Ngwadzai
SMALL-SCALE farmers face uncertainty over where to sell their produce following an announcement that the government will not release money to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) for the next farming season, an advocacy organisation has said.
Go Back to the Land Zambia executive director Cyprian Chimwendo Phiri said in an interview the decision announced by finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane was a big setback for farmers who depended on the agency to buy their produce.
“The announcement by the minister of finance that government will not release any treasury funds to the Food Reserve Agency for next year’s farming season is a sad development for small-scale farmers who depend on FRA for the sale of their produce,” Phiri said.
He said the decision raised concerns about the prospects for farmers under President Hakainde Hichilema’s Grow Zambia Agenda, which he unveiled on October 9.
Phiri said the five-year national development programme, which aims at doubling the size of the economy, creating jobs and improving living standards, presented an opportunity for small-scale farmers to improve their livelihoods.
“The Grow Zambia Agenda is a great opportunity for small-scale farmers to enhance and improve their livelihoods with a predictable market,” Phiri said.
He said reliable markets were important to ensuring that small-scale farmers benefited from the country’s agricultural opportunities.
Dr Musokotwane said government would not release any treasury money to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) next farming season because it had bought more maize than was budgeted for this season.
Asked to confirm whether government had bought more maize than budgeted during his meeting with the IMF on Friday, Dr Musokotwane said government had exceeded the initial target of 500,000 metric tonnes.
“Yes, it is true that the amount of money spent to acquire the strategic food reserves is much more than what we had in the budget. Arising from the fact that we bought more,” he said.
