Maravi

Masebo bemoans poor maize storage facilities

Masebo bemoans poor maize storage facilities
By Florence Bupe
Thu 18 Nov. 2010, 12:01 CAT

SYLVIA Masebo says the maize bumper harvest will be a waste of resources if the government fails to secure the crop bought from small-scale farmers. Masebo told Parliament on Tuesday that her constituency, Chongwe, was faced with challenges in maize storage and the grain was already going to waste in some depots.

“Whilst we have produced so much maize, there are still many challenges being faced. I am particularly worried about wastage in Chongwe. I went round some depots and discovered that some grain is already affected by weevils,” Masebo said. “Of what value is the bumper harvest then if we fail to preserve it?”

Masebo also asked the Ministry of Agriculture to give a clear position on maize exports and explain why maize was being exported at lower prices than the local purchase price.

“Why should we subsidise foreign countries? Shouldn’t government consider selling our maize to local millers? This is a very serious matter, there is no way we can produce maize at a high cost and sell for half the price,” she said.

Masebo advised the government to diversify within the agriculture sector if they had failed to effectively manage maize production.

Masebo also urged the government to attach more seriousness to paying farmers on time to enable them get inputs for the next farming season.

Masebo disclosed that some farmers in her constituency who had supplied maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had not yet received their payment.

And in an interview, Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) president Charles Milupi challenged the government to explain where they would get the money required to subsidise maize exports.

“Maize is locally being bought at close to US $400 per tonne but government wants to export at US $200 per tonne. Now, where will government get money to subsidise the intended exports?” he wondered.

Milupi said the government needed to explore ways of lowering the cost of maize production at input level as opposed to output.

He said comparatively, Zambia had the highest fertiliser prices in the region, a factor which contributed to high maize production costs.

“Another input cost is diesel, and our diesel prices have continued to rise. There are so many inefficiencies in the production chain of maize,” said Milupi.

Labels: CHONGWE, MAIZE, SILOS, STORAGE, SYLVIA MASEBO

posted by MrK @ 5:18 PM