2011 maize now fully secure, says FRA

2011 maize now fully secure, says FRA
By Gift Chanda
Wed 04 Jan. 2012, 13:25 CAT

THE Food Reserve Agency says it has fully secured all the maize it bought under the 2011 crop-marketing season. Food Reserve Agency (FRA) market information coordinator, Philip Kabwe said the maize was safe.

Stakeholders recently expressed concern over maize going to waste following the onset of the rains. The stakeholders urged the FRA to speed up the process of putting in place measures aimed at securing the grain.

FRA purchased 1,751,660 metric tonnes of maize during the 2011 crop marketing season, 35 per cent more than the earlier planned purchase of 1,300,000 metric tonnes.

The increased purchases resulted in a deficit of storage space of close to 900,000 metric tonnes countrywide.

"Currently, the entire purchased crop has been fully secured across the country as it is either in-doors in sheds, or outdoors on raised platforms which are either made of timber or concrete. All outdoor stocks are covered with tarpaulins," Kabwe stated in response to a query.

"FRA employed a number of measures to secure the crop and these include renting of privately owned sheds, procurement and distribution of additional marketing requisites among them tarpaulins to cover the crop and empty grain bags for re-bagging."

He said currently the agency was moving the maize from satellite depots to holding depots.

"As the movement of maize from satellite depots is ongoing, the exercise of securing the stocks will continue until such a time that all the maize would have been moved to holding depots," explained Kabwe.