Maize marketing at crossroads
By Editor
Tue 08 June 2010, 08:20 CAT
We can state with full consciousness that the current maize bumper output the country achieved this year is a disaster in the making.
The potential of this feat going sour is so high. And every day, we see this potential racing towards fruition – at least, if the behaviour of key stakeholders in the maize marketing is anything to go by.
For background’s sake, we would like to state that records are there to show that the country has struggled to export its 280, 000 metric tonnes of maize from the previous season. This scenario has been exacerbated this year by the 2.8 million metric tonnes output our farmers have delivered for the 2009/2010 farming season.
We were not particularly as excited as other misguided government fanatics when agriculture minister went on the podium to celebrate the highest crop harvest in about 22 years.
This record output puts the country in an awkward position, simply for two principal reasons: the country has never been ready to explore export markets for its maize while on the other hand we have produced more than we need.
And today, the Zambia National Farmers Union has called for the re-introduction of the marketing board to oversee the purchase and eventual sale of agricultural commodities.
The farmers’ body has since suggested that millers and grain traders be banned from directly purchasing maize and other agricultural commodities from small-scale farmers as they often buy the crops at below production-cost price.
Jervis Zimba, the president of the farmers union, is today telling us that there is need for the creation of one institution, such as the defunct National Marketing Board (NAMBOARD), that will solely oversee the purchase of maize from farmers in the country.
Zimba who uses Malawi and Zimbabwe as test cases is also saying the deregulation in maize marketing has proved that it can never work to better the lives of poor farmers and mealie-meal consumers.
We sense a lot of desperation in Zimba’s musings and we understand his concern. Zimba is definitely a president in a very difficult situation and this is the situation most of our farmers find themselves in. NAMBOARD remained the buyer of last resort and a government tool for intervening in the market. Producer prices of all controlled agricultural commodities, except maize for which a fixed price was determined, were set as floor prices.
NAMBOARD’s existence was synonymous with tenets of a commandist economy then.
We therefore do not fully support the reintroduction of the NAMBOARD look-like arrangement because we know it will be prone to abuse. We say so because NAMBOARD itself was forced to cease operations because it had a lot of bottlenecks and deficiencies. Our people need to be reminded that President Rupiah Banda once served as chief executive officer of NAMBOARD – a position he was unceremoniously hounded out of by former president Kenneth Kaunda.
We, however, fully agree with Zimba when he calls for a total review of the maize production and marketing system in the country. This should start with the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
There is need to reform the FRA especially with respect to how it deals with small-scale farmers. We know very well that the FRA rarely pays the farmers on time. The FRA has actually become a negative distortion in its own right; failing to provide the level of certainty in revenue streams that farmers desperately need to invest in more maize and other products.
The FRA should be more directly focused on food security, rather than large significant purchases of maize in the market. It might also be good if some food purchases were done through the ZAMACE rather than directly with farmers to reduce price distortions.
This is apparently so because the country has indeed produced more than we can possibly consume in one year.
Export subsidies are indispensable in this case because Zambian maize cannot compete competitively on the international front owing to high production costs.
When the incentives are correct and this country has a fully functioning FRA, farmers will have nothing to fear. More exports, more money in the pockets of rural dwellers to drive growth in other areas.
As we say all this, we are mindful that there is need to develop our maize production sector to make our local produce compete favourably with other efficient producers in the region like Malawi, Zimbabwe and the giant South Africa.
This can be achieved through better investment in education and research.
There is need for adequate investment in infrastructure, especially in rural areas as a way of reducing the cost of doing business.
Access to credit for smallholder farmers is very poor and consequently they continue to year-in-year-out depend on the government subsides embedded in the recently augmented Farm Input Support Programme.
Labels: MAIZE, MARKETING BOARDS, NAMBOARD
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ZNFU urges reintroduction of maize marketing board
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Tue 08 June 2010, 08:20 CAT
ZAMBIA National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has called for the reintroduction of the marketing board to oversee the purchase and eventual sale of agricultural commodities.
The farmers body has since suggested that
millers and grain traders be banned from directly purchasing maize and other agricultural commodities from small scale farmers as they often bought the crops at below production cost price.
ZNFU president Jervis Zimba said there was need for the creation of one institution, such as the defunct National Marketing Board (NAMBOARD), that will solely oversee the purchase of maize from farmers in the country.
Zimba explained that the country needed to adopt a system like in Malawi and Zimbabwe where a single institution was responsible for buying all the maize in the country and also executed the marketing functions.
He said the firm to oversee the maize marketing exercise needed to be modeled along the lines of the defunct NAMBOARD. Zimba said the deregulation in maize marketing had proved that it could never work to better the lives of poor farmers and mealie meal consumers.
“What we really need at the moment is to reform the maize marketing sector because it is clear that the market forces of demand and supply have failed to work in this country,” Zimba said.
“This equation of demand and supply has failed to work because not only is it benefiting few people…the millers, while the farmers and the government are both losing out. And the rate at which we are going, the farmers will need an institution like NAMBOARD. A similar arrangement is happening in Malawi and Zimbabwe and in both countries it has proved to be a huge success.”
Formed in 1985, Namboard was the monopoly buyer of maize at prices set by the government and the cooperatives were merely agents.
The establishment of Namboard was based on the belief that centralised agricultural marketing would streamline the operations, while the promotion of cooperative unions was viewed as a way of protecting the peasant farmers from exploitation.
In mid-1989, the government announced the dissolution of Namboard and transfer of its agricultural marketing and related functions to ZCF, including fertilizer importation, maintenance of maize strategic reserves, importation and distribution of empty grain bags, and provision of fumigation services. The main justification for the decision was the further streamlining of the agricultural marketing system by avoiding duplication of responsibilities and double handling.
Zimba said there was need for a strong government insofar as maize marketing was concerned.
“In the absence of very serious government intervention, which normally happen world over, as staple food and if we want to maintain consistence in production, government needs to intervene,” he said.
“We are aware that the millers, grain traders and briefcase buyers do nothing in a surplus situation. All we are saying is that ‘can we have a serious intervention’ by the government. I think we have taken too long to react to these unscrupulous market forces. What we should have done…What we really need to do now is total reform programme for agriculture. We have discovered that this equation of demand and supply does not work in small markets like Zambia. So, the farmers’ call right now is that they are thinking that the only choice we have is revert to the old system of FRA buying the crop and traders and millers should buy from FRA. And then we can start discussing on pre-plant prices…before the farmers grow the crop. The current problem we have now…we need government intervention by buying the crop and exporting it under a subsidy programme.”
Zimba said owing to the dysfunctional maize marketing arrangement in the country, efforts of the government to provide subsidised inputs and fertilizers to farmers were not paying dividends.
“The government provides empowerment to the farmers in pre-planting season,” Zimba said.
“…and at the same time provides them with the necessary inputs but what happens is that when it comes to the marketing time…because the farmers are selling at below-price-production, the government initiative of supporting farmers only accumulates to the briefcase buyers and millers who get the final product at ridiculously low prices.”
Zimba said there was need for the government to lower the cost of production in the country to enable the farm products to become competitive locally and internationally.
“The cost of production in Zambia is too high; therefore in the next budget, he has to address,” said Zimba.
Labels: GRAIN MARKETING BOARD, JERVIS ZIMBA, MAIZE, MARKETING BOARDS, NAMBOARD, ZNFU
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There is need to address challenges in agriculture marketing – Chituwo
Written by Kabanda Chulu
Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:04:41 PM
AGRICULTURE minister Brian Chituwo has said there is need to address challenges facing the marketing of agricultural commodities if the agricultural sector is to make a meaningful contribution to Zambia’s economic development.
During the Agriculture Consultative Forum (ACF) stakeholders’ meeting on the possibility of establishing a Public Private Partnership (PPP) marketing institution for Zambia in Lusaka on Wednesday, Dr Chituwo said the development of the agriculture industry was important to economic growth as well as poverty reduction.
“In this regard, development of a well-functioning agricultural market is seen as a necessary element towards achieving this economic development and marketing of agricultural commodities especially those produced by small-scale farmers has continued to be a challenge to both government and private sector and has probably stifled growth in the sector for a long time now,” Dr Chituwo said.
“Since the dissolution of National Agricultural Marketing (NAMBoard) in 1989 and subsequent transfer of marketing functions particularly for maize to the Zambia Cooperative Federation, agriculture marketing in the country has not been very encouraging.”
He said the establishment of the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) in 1995 partially responded to the problems created by the lack of an agricultural marketing institution.
“While FRA is intended to purchase designated crops for strategic food reserves, there are still problems in the market with regard to general crop marketing, especially for crops not designated as well as other commodities,” said Dr Chituwo.
“In this regard, I implore all stakeholders to critically analyse the situation and chart the way forward towards creating a PPP marketing institution and I strongly believe that some of the modalities of the dissolved NAMBoard can still find room in the proposed institution set up.”
Labels: ACF, AGRICULTURE, BRIAN CHITUWO, MARKETING, MARKETING BOARDS, NAMBOARD, PPPs
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ZANAMA accuses govt of using market boards to employ cadres
By Correspondent
Sunday December 09, 2007 [03:00]
ZAMBIA National Marketeers Association (ZANAMA) chairman
Elvis Nkandu has said that
market boards are meant to employ MMD cadres so that they start controlling the markets. But local government minister Sylvia Masebo has said that the new deal government cannot sink so low as to plant cadres in markets through markets boards. During a meeting at Chisokone ‘A’ on Friday afternoon, Nkandu vowed that his association would continue with its protests over the new market Act.
He said that when market boards are formed, the MMD government would ensure that only its cadres and those who supported it were allowed to sit on the boards.
Nkandu said those who are perceived to be opposition Patriotic Front (PF) cadres or opposed what the MMD government was doing would not be allowed to sit on the boards.
He said his association would not allow cadres to run markets and would ensure that it continued to fight the market Act now and in future.
The bus station and market Act states that All bus stations and markets in the country must be run by management boards and no association should operate within the station or the market.
Nkandu said the only way to fight the new market Act, which has since become law was by staging demonstrations and protests and he urged marketers to be ready to be arrested as they stage protests.
“These boards are meant to employ MMD cadres so that they start controlling the markets. They will only allow MMD cadres to sit on these boards and those who support them. They cannot allow PF members or cadres to sit on the boards because they know they will be opposing them,” he said.
Nkandu said the new law does not serve the interests of marketeers.
He also said the government should not employ people who were retrenched from liquidated companies like Zambia Airways, United Bus of Zambia, Dunlop and others as accountants of the boards.
But Masebo said it was unfortunate that Nkandu was misleading marketeers on the issue of market boards because he wanted to continue stealing from poor and ignorant women.
She accused Nkandu of being stubborn and arrogant and warned that his association risked being de-registered.
Masebo said Nkandu’s stubbornness over the market boards was a clear indication that he was getting a lot of money from marketeers and feared that once boards were put in place, he would stop getting money from marketers.
Labels: ELVIS NKANDU, MARKETING BOARDS, SYLVIA MASEBO, ZANAMA
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