Mansa farmers castigate FRA for failure to pay small-scale farmers

Mansa farmers castigate FRA for failure to pay small-scale farmers
Written by Florence Bupe
Wednesday, September 09, 2009 6:08:17 PM

MANSA District Farmers Association (DFA) chairperson George Mwila has castigated government for failing to pay small-scale farmers for the grain supplied to FRA.

In an interview, Mwila said most farmers would be denied the chance to acquire farming inputs on time because they did not have the financial resources to do so due to government’s inefficiencies in settling what was owed to them after selling their maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).

“The situation on the ground is not good at all. Farmers who sold their produce to government through the FRA have not been paid to date. The outcry of our members is for government to improve the marketing systems,” he said.

He complained that most small scale farmers would be denied the right to participate in various farmers’ schemes that required them to pay in order to access services.

Mwila also said there was need for improved market access and increased fund allocation towards the maize purchasing exercise as the district in particular, and the nation as a whole, was expected to continue having increased yields.

“As farmers, we are in a dilemma. It’s easy for people to talk, but what is on the ground is different, we are suffering. Most of our farmers are still stranded with their produce because the money that was released is just a drop in the ocean, especially considering the increased production that we’ve had,” he said.

Mwila urged the government to devise programmes that would promote the production of other crops than maize, such as beans and cassava.

He said Luapula Province had massive potential to contribute to the country’s food basket through the cultivation of cassava and beans, but observed that there was little interest invested in promoting the growing of these crops.

Mwila noted that regions such as the Copperbelt and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offered a lucrative market for other crops produced in the area, but that there were no supporting systems and infrastructure.