FRA's current maize buying exercise disappoints Phiri
FRA's current maize buying exercise disappoints PhiriBy Fridah Zinyama
Friday August 31, 2007 [04:00]
SMALL-SCALE Farmers Association of Zambia president Rodgers Phiri has expressed disappointment over the Food Reserve Agency's current maize buying exercise. In an interview, Phiri said the maize marketing season had yet again been mishandled by the FRA.
"We are concerned at the rate at which the agency is buying the farmers' produce," he said. "We only have a month to prepare for the next farming season but FRA has not yet finished buying our crops."
He wondered why FRA took a long time to purchase the farmers' produce even when the government had provided additional sums of money. "Small-scale farmers play a vital role in food production of this country and the way the marketing season is handled is very important," Phiri said.
He said the small-scale farmers had managed to produce a bumper harvest during the last farming season despite the floods that affected most crops.
"With improved handling of the crop marketing season, the farmers are also likely to improve their production as they will be assured of their produce being bought on time," Phiri said.
He said an improved maize marketing exercise could also reduce cases of exploitation of farmers by briefcase buyers. Last week, President Mwanawasa announced that the government had summoned a financial institution to loan government about K200 billion to continue with the maize buying exercise.
There have been several calls for FRA to improve the way it handles the crop marketing season every year. Various stakeholders wonder why FRA still continues to experience the same problems year after year, instead of putting in place better measures to improve the marketing season.
Labels: FRA, MAIZE, RODGERS PHIRI, SFA
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