FRA and grain storage - our perspective
FRA and grain storage - our perspectiveSun 27 May 2012, 11:00 CAT
Despite Zambia having bumper harvests in the recent farming seasons, the majority of Zambians still experience food insecurity.
The incidence of hunger is high among rural Zambian households due to seasonal production of the country's staple food maize and lack of a diverse nutritional diet to include other crops.
It is therefore, in this vain that effective storage plays an important role in stabilising food supply by soothing seasonal food production.
To stabilise food supply, the Government through an Act of Parliament in 1995 established the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), to help in the maintenance and administration of national strategic food reserves.
In its effort to become a relevant and reliable component of the agri-business sector in Zambia by contributing to national economic development, the FRA has not been spared from losses due to poor storage facilities.
Inadequate storage capacity has been the major contributor to food insecurity not only in Zambia, but also in most countries in Africa.
Storage facilities not only offer the opportunity to eradicate hunger in the country, but also enable farmers to improve their incomes by storing crops and selling at premium prices later in the year.
As quality is an important determination to crop pricing, effective storage is equally crucial to improving agricultural incomes and food security.
The FRA further notes that effective storage depends on storage length and volumes of the commodity being stored.
According to researchers, (Salunke and Desai, a study on the impact of maize storage and rural household food security in northern Kwa Zulu-Natal - 2004), losses are largely due to disease, pests and oxidative damages, thereby recommending air-tight type of storage.
The FRA has recorded huge purchase quantities in the past five marketing seasons, from 2006 to date. With only 434 existing storage sheds countrywide, the Agency has been overwhelmed in holding the current 2 million metric tones stock.
FRA spokesperson, Mwamba Siame, disclosed that the saturation in holding capacities had necessitated government to negotiate with its Chinese counterpart to construct additional storage facilities.
The latter gave Zambia a grant of US$ 11.6 million to build sheds with a total capacity of 98,000 metric tones holding capacity in 2008.
Of the 1.7 million metric tones purchased by the agency in the 2011/2012 marketing season, plus the carry over stock of 436,000 metric tonnes, about 190,000 metric tones of the maize grain have gone to waste mainly due to poor storage facilities.
Because of these huge loses incurred, the Agency has embarked on long term storage planning, for the period 2011 to 2017.
Siame says the challenge of inadequate storage capacity caused the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to pledge the willingness mobilising resources to construct new storage facilities and rehabilitate existing ones.
Currently, there are six silos countrywide. The silos are in Monze, Chisamba, Kabwe, Kitwe, Ndola and Lusaka. The Lusaka silo is the only one functioning, the rest need rehabilitation.
The rapidly increasing wasted stock levels held by the Agency's reserves were clearly evidenced in Petauke recently when FRA and the Ministry of health inspected the massive destruction process of rotten maize. The process was being carried out nationwide to protect human and animal lives from consuming the contaminated grain.
FRA quality and standards coordinator, Alfred Mkonda, expressed concern at the loss of huge quantities of the 50Kg bags of maize and cited the need for improved storage facilities.
According to Mr Mkonda, "FRA is not happy with the damage. The agency was designed to handle only 300,000 metric tones and not the two million it handled last year.
Our capacities are over-stretched. FRA was designed as a facilitation agency only. Most of the functions are done by private sector who are sub-contracted to do warehousing, transportation and fumigation.
Most of the stock was kept outside on slabs and raised platforms made with logs, covered with tarpaulins (huge heavy tents). This was because the available sheds could not hold the whole purchased crop. Our appeal to the nation is to increase storage capacities to avoid these losses."
Mkonda also attributed the loss to inadequate staffing in FRA explaining that stocks in most depots were left unattended to due to a shortfall in personnel.
FRA has a staff establishment of only 122 employees and depends on farmer cooperatives and associations who are engaged as warehouse managers who receive the stock and manage it.
The cooperatives and farmer associations have few personnel trained in grain management. This means that ignorance was partly the reason for the damage as those engaged do not understand the technicalities involved in the exercise.
He explained that the losses recorded in various locations were mainly due to the spillages and exposure of the grain to unfavourable weather conditions.
About 70 per cent of the total stock purchased in the 2011/2012 was kept under tarpaulins leading to the agency losing huge sums of money, not only due to stock rotting but also to the pilferage and thefts as it is difficult to account for stocks held outdoors with collapsing stacks.
Petauke alone recorded over 560,000 x 50Kg damaged bags of the total 2.6 million bags purchased in the district. A check at Kaumbwe and Mapunzi satellite depots in Chieftainess Mwanjabantu's area found the destruction process using government machinery in progress.
The destruction methods used included burying using front-end loaders, burning and spreading in consented fields for use as manure as the case is with Chieftainess Mwanjabantu's farming grounds.
Mr Mkonda recommended chieftainess Mwanjabantu's gesture to give land for disposing off the wasted grain and implored others to emulate her.
Despite the disheartening recorded losses, he explained that losses were a normal expectation and occurrence in any grain management ventures. The Agency was within the 2-10 percent loss margins.
About 100,000 metric tones are expected to be destroyed countrywide by the end of the exercise.
"The programme is going-on countrywide. It was a question of being overwhelmed. We have been having carry-over stocks for the last three seasons. The capacity of FRA is inadequate. We have never had this kind of stock before. Only 36 per cent of the stock was properly stored in enclosed sheds," he said.
The FRA, with the help of the government, shall embark on building silos countrywide to ensure food security and sustainable agricultural turnovers.
And speaking on behalf of the district medical officer, Dr Kennedy Kabuswe, Public Health Officer, Julius Samboko, reiterated that the destruction process was in conformity with the food and drugs Act Cap 303 and the public health Act Cap 295 of the Laws of Zambia.
He advised the Agency to look into its storage system to avoid affecting both human and animal lives adversely.
He was however quick to commend FRA for its efforts in combating the situation amid huge nature challenges such as the changing weather patterns.
"The destroyed maize is owned by FRA. We have been inspecting it and found out that some of it does not comply with the food Act, Cap 303 of the Laws of Zambia. So we ceased 560,731 x50 Kg bags of maize in Petauke district. The maize was giving a smell nuisance to the community and we notified FRA to remove it immediately, of which they complied. We advised them to bury or burn it in order to protect humans and animals. FRA is not doing it alone because we are on the ground. They are doing it in accordance with public health standards. FRA has done its part, but nature has overtaken them. They couldn't do more. Our desire is not to seize but rather ask FRA to store properly," says Samboko.
Indeed, if storage challenges are looked into holistically, then the FRA mission statement of being an organisation that efficiently manages sustainable national reserves, ensuring national food security and income through provision of complementary and high quality marketing and storage services in line with international standards will be fulfilled.
Food Reserve Agency
Public relations
Tel: 0977 892 686/0965 892 686
mwambasiame@yahoo.co.uk, tallm@yahoo.com
posted by MrK @ 4:35 PM
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