Maravi

Govt has left small scale farmers to be exploited - Scott

Govt has left small scale farmers to be exploited - Scott
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thu 02 Sep. 2010, 04:01 CAT

DR Guy Scott yesterday said small–scale farmers in the country have been left to be exploited by ‘briefcase’ maize buyers owing to the government’s failure to adequately fund Food Reserve Agency (FRA).

And Dr Scott has said the K700 billion being touted to be borrowed by FRA to boost the current crop marketing season will not be enough to mop the over 2.7 million metric tonnes of maize.

Commenting on the current impasse in the current maize marketing season, exacerbated by the government’s failure to adequately capitalise FRA to mop the current crop, Dr Scott said only government adequate funding would save the local peasant farmers.

Dr Scott, who is PF vice-president, wondered why the government was busy chasing donors when they could not even mobilise K700 billion for an important exercise like maize purchasing.

“The current problem is that they seem not to have enough money to buy the crop and as a result, the briefcase business are being very active and the price of maize has been very low,” he said.

Dr Scott said the current problems were as a result of not planning and implementing correct and timely decisions.

He alleged the government was spending money to prop-up the kwacha which had come under pressure from major convertibles instead of increasing funding to FRA.

“They can plan until their brain fails but if they don’t set the money aside, if they keep chasing donors, if they keep spending the money by strengthening the kwacha by buying hard currency, if they supply money like that, they won’t have the money to pay,” he said.

Dr Scott also observed that K700 billion was not adequate to mop the maize up.

“I don’t think that is nearly enough money and borrowing it from the bank, you have to repay. This problem won’t end until it is properly prioritised in this country,” he said.

Dr Scott warned that the current rebound in maize production was under threat owing to the bottlenecks in the current maize marketing arrangements.

“It is better to have a steady supply than to go up and down all the time,” said Dr Scott.

Labels: AGRICULTURE, FARMERS, GUY SCOTT, PF

posted by MrK @ 3:54 AM