FRA and grain storage - our perspective
Sun 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
Labels: FOOD, FRA, SILOS
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More crops would have gone to waste had PF not been voted into power-Sata
TIME PUBLISHED - Monday, November 7, 2011, 4:48 pm
President Michael Sata has disclosed that more than 60 per cent of the crop that has been purchased would have gone to waste if the Patriotic Front was not elected into power.
In a press statement made available to the media by Special Assistant to the President for Press and public relations, George chellah , Mr Sata said that he was happy with the progress government has made in the purchase of maize and other crops since taking over office.
The President disclosed that government has so far purchased over 1,660,899 Metric Tonnes (MT) of maize worth K2.1 trillion and over 993MT of rice worth K1.5 billion.
“Government has paid out over K1, 774,836,300,000 (approximately K1.8 trillion) and another K100 billion will be disbursed this week to speed up payments to our farmers and settle all arrears in order for them to proceed with the ongoing farming season with minimum difficulty,” President Sata said.
“More than 60 per cent of the crop that has been purchased would have gone to waste if this government was not elected to power.”
The President has re-affirmed that the new administration was determined to steer the agricultural sector as promised and in line with the PF manifesto.
“During the campaigns we made an undertaking that we shall ensure that maize and other crops were bought just in the early days of us taking office. This promise we have kept hence our decision to dedicate huge sums of money to the crop marketing season,” President Sata said.
“More than 60 per cent of the crop that has been purchased would have gone to waste if this government was not elected to power.”
“We would like to express our gratitude to our millers who have reduced the price of mealie meal. And we hope that others who have not yet effected this price reduction will do so to help the majority of our people afford this essential commodity.
“We are happy that the Food Reserve Agency has taken keen interest in purchasing other crops such as rice and we anticipate that other high-value cash crops will be identified.”
The President also said government is working on comprehensive measures to combat animal diseases in the country especially in Southern Province.
Labels: FRA, MAIZE, MICHAEL SATA, SILOS
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Chegutu farmer builds silos
Friday, 09 September 2011 02:00
Obert Chifamba
A Chegutu farmer Mr Tobias Musariri is building two silos at his farm to store grain after incurring heavy seed maize losses caused by poor handling facilities last farming season. The two silos will cost US$150 000 and have a holding capacity of 1 000 tonnes of grain.
"I secured a loan from a bank to see the project through. "I am also going to install dryers in the silos to make it possible for the harvesting of maize even when it is not fully dry for safe storage against weather elements, pests and even fires.
"This will also allow me to seek markets without pressure as all my grain will be safely stashed away in the silos where it will be fumigated against boring insects to prolong the shelf life," said Mr Musariri in an interview on Tuesday.
Mr Musariri has hired two South Africans and 12 locals for the construction of the silos that he says will be completed by the end of the month.
He said he had to hire contractors from South Africa, as there were few locals who had the skills to construct silos, something he said should be addressed by extensive training of local human resources.
"We need to train the human resource component, which happens to be one of the vital cogs in agricultural production.
"I have five students on attachment from various tertiary institutions at the moment and that should also help broaden our base of trained personnel," said Mr Musariri.
He lamented the absence of farming magazines on the local markets saying he ended up subscribing to South Africa's Farmers Weekly to bridge the information gap.
But Mr Musariri will take long to forget the loss that inspired him to start the silo project.
"I have lost between 45 and 50 tonnes of seed maize to weevils.
"The grain was ruined while it was still on the field as we could not harvest it all at once because of storage and mechanisation challenges.
"Harvesting manually cost us.
"Seed maize was on 100ha while commercial maize was also on a similar hectarage.
"We have already delivered 300t to Seed Co while another 223t are also ready for delivery.
"We are going to sell the ruined seed as commercial maize but for a lesser value," he said.
Mr Musariri said farmers needed to be capacitated to harvest and deliver at the right time, at their own pace and at the right prices so that they remained in business.
He also lamented the high costs of sustaining hired labour that he said was charging between US$2,50 and US$5 per day depending on the nature of the job.
Mr Musariri has 45 permanent employees at his Pool Farm while he hires around 100 extra hands whenever there is pressure.
Mr Musariri owns 1 100 hectares of land after merging the two farms he bought in 1980 and 1990 respectively.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, MAIZE, SEEDCO, SILOS
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CSPR urges FRA to find alternative maize storage
By George Zulu
Wed 24 Nov. 2010, 04:00 CAT
CSPR has urged the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to swiftly find alternative maize storage facilities across the country before this year’s crop goes to waste.
In an interview, Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) vice-chairperson Partner Siabutuba said FRA would face challenges in maintaining the bumper harvest recorded from the 2009/2010 farming season if it did not consider finding alternative storage facilities.
Siabutuba said with the onset of the rainy season, it was clear that the widely talked about maize bumper harvest would go to waste because a lot of maize in most areas of the country was not covered.
“This is the confusion FRA finds itself in; we are boasting about the bumper harvest but we have failed to manage it. The rain has started and I am sure that in some places it has already been socked. Let them find alternative storage rather than letting the maize go to waste,” Siabutuba said.
Labels: CSPR, FRA, MAIZE, PARTNER SIABUTUBA, SILOS, STORAGE
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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
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Maize in Chongwe going to waste – Masebo
Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 17:00
By LusakaTimes
Chongwe member of parliament Sylvia Masebo has warned that the government risks running to a huge loss if no serious measures were taken to protect the already purchased grain from rains.
Speaking in parliament, Ms Masebo said her constituency was faced with challenges in maize storage and the grain was already going to waste in some depots.
“There are still many challenges being faced in Chongwe, I went round some depots and discovered that some grain is already affected by weevils,” she said.
Ms Masebo also wondered how the Ministry of Agriculture would manage to sell off the excess produce when the global selling price was way lower than the local purchase price.She said it would be unreasonable for the ministry to subsidise the price for foreign countries purchasing the commodity at the expense of the local millers.
Ms Masebo also wondered how the Ministry of Agriculture would manage to sell off the excess produce when the global selling price was way lower than the local purchase price.She said it would be unreasonable for the ministry to subsidise the price for foreign countries purchasing the commodity at the expense of the local millers.
Ms. Masebo further 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.
Labels: MAIZE, SILOS, STORAGE, SYLVIA MASEBO
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FRA grapples with storage problems
By Florence Bupe in Mongu
Sun 26 Sep. 2010, 22:40 CAT
FOOD Reserve Agency (FRA) executive director Dr Anthony Mwanaumo has said grain storage has remained a major challenge for the agency, especially in rural areas. Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Western Province deputy permanent secretary Mwangala Liomba on Thursday, Dr Mwanaumo said FRA had acquired tarpaulins to help address the shortage of storage facilities in the country.
He said the available storage facilities in rural areas were inadequate to contain the bumper harvest of maize realized in most parts of the country.
Zambia produced a total of 2.7 million metric tonnes of maize during the 2009/ 2010 farming season.
“Storage is proving to be a challenge considering the 2.7 million metric tonnes of maize that the country has produced. We are procuring additional tarpaulins for districts like Shangombo to help address the shortage of storage facilities,” he said.
Dr Mwanaumo said the agency was also trying to move maize grain from rural areas to areas that had larger storage shelters before the onset of the rains. He said this could only be achieved with the cooperation of transporters, whom he assured of timely payment for their services.
“We want transporters to partner with us to ensure that maize is moved to safe storage before the onset of the rains. We have already received adequate resources to pay transporters for their services,” he said.
Dr Mwanaumo also assured farmers that the agency would pay out K130 billion per week until the outstanding debt of about K600 billion was cleared and every farmer paid.
FRA has so far purchased 643,000 metric tonnes of maize and 837 metric tonnes of paddy rice countrywide, valued at K836 billion and K1.2 billion, respectively.
A total of 609 metric tonnes of rice has been purchased from Western Province alone, representing 72 per cent of the total national rice purchases.
And Liomba urged FRA to enhance their presence in outlying areas which he said were productive but lacked market access for their produce because the agency was absent.
He further called for sensitisation of farmers on market availability for their produce.
Labels: FRA, MAIZE, MWANGALA LIOMMBA, SILOS, STORAGE
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Lack of storage a challenge to procurement of maize
By Mwala Kalaluka in Mbala
Thu 05 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT
INADEQUATE storage facilities have posed a challenge to the government's plans to procure about 280,000 by 50kg bags of maize from small-scale farmers in Mbala, district commissioner Lightwell Chongo has said.
Chongo told journalists on Tuesday that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had so far spent about K20 billion out of the K22 billion that was earmarked for buying maize in Mbala.
"We have had a good marketing season this year," he said.
Chongo said Mbala had the highest maize harvest in the region this season.
He said the crop forecast for the last farming season was 500, 000 by 50kg bags of maize in respect of Mbala.
"The K2 billion on top is the one we are expected to spend to rake in the maize before we close the program," he said. "Government has bought close to 270,000 by 50kg of maize."
Chongo said the only challenge in the maize buying exercise was the lack of adequate storage facilities for maize.
"Storage facilities are very limited...we are shipping directly into Kasama to avoid that problem of storage," Chongo said. "We do not have enough. In the past two seasons we have been relying on ZAF to help us store the maize."
Chongo said the rest of the maize that could not be contained in the storage sheds were, as a temporal measure, covered with tarpaulins.
On the health sector, Chongo said the withdrawal of funding to the sector by some donors had mostly affected funding to operations for health establishments in the district.
"The only effect that I would say was noticeable was in terms of operational funds. There was a drop but otherwise we were able to pull through in terms of drugs but it was just a matter of the hospitals re-adjusting," he said.
Chongo said the government had disbursed K200 million to upgrade Mbala General Hospital.
Chongo said Cabinet office had sent about K530 million to help in the establishment of an IV Fluid plant at Mbala Hospital.
"It is quite expensive because everyone has to travel to Lusaka to get these. A lot of progress has been made," Chongo said.
However, Chongo said the biggest investment that Mbala had received from the government was towards the education sector and he pegged the amount to around K3 billion.
And Chongo said the erratic fuel situation had hit Mbala badly.
"We still have diesel but we have run out of petrol. Traders have seen an opportunity to trade in diesel and so we have seen a lot of diesel that is coming across," he said.
"Most of the trucks you find between Nakonde and Mbala are carrying diesel. The reason they are not carrying petrol is because it is a bit risky. There is petrol on the black market...but there are health risks in terms of safety as they move the diesel from Tanzania."
Chongo also bemoaned the low levels of private sector investment in Mbala district.
Labels: FRA, MAIZE, SILOS, STORAGE
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FRA begins construction of storage sheds countrywide
Written by Florence Bupe in Kapiri Mposhi and Emmanuel Kampamba in Mpulungu
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 7:18:42 PM
THE Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has commenced the construction of grain storage sheds around the country under the US $11.6 million concession loan from the Chinese government. The loan is meant to make possible the construction of about 98,000 metric tonnes of storage facilities in eight districts around the country.
Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the sheds in Kapiri Mposhi, agriculture minister Dr Brian Chituwo said the agriculture sector was faced with a number of challenges that were impeding growth, including inadequate storage facilities.
“Although we have been recording surplus harvests over the last few years, our agriculture sector is still faced with many challenges, including the lack of storage facilities. As government, we will do our part to ensure that the project is completed on time,” he said.
A Chinese contractor, Camco Corporation, has been engaged to construct the eight sheds.
Dr Chituwo said the availability of additional storage sheds would enhance maize marketing for small-scale farmers around the country, and increase the possibility of exports.
Dr Chituwo also said the government was working towards ensuring that farmers were paid on time for the produce they supply during the ongoing maize marketing season.
“Consultations are ongoing to speedily pay our farmers. The export market is waiting. We are in consultation with FRA to try and work out modalities of servicing the export market,” said Dr Chituwo.
And FRA board chairperson Costain Chilala disclosed that the agency had almost fulfilled the crop purchase target for this year, but expressed worry at the payment mode.
“We have collected almost all the maize we intend to buy this year, but we don’t have the assurance that government will pay. FRA is in consultation with government to borrow money in order to alleviate the challenges that farmers are facing,” said Chilala.
Meanwhile, Camco Corporation vice-president Peng Jiping and Chinese Embassy representative Wang Hu stressed the significance of agriculture to Zambia’s economic growth, and pledged that country’s continued support to the sector.
The storage shed construction project is scheduled for completion by October 2010.
And 1,500 Mpulungu farmers are stranded with hundreds of bags of maize because the FRA has stopped buying the commodity from the farmers in the area.
District Cooperatives Union (DCU) manager Lawson Simunyola said farmers were now spending nights in the cold at different satellite depots because they did not know where to sell their maize.
He said less than a quarter of Mpulungu farmers had sold maize to FRA in this year's maize marketing season.
'' What has caused this problem is that FRA has only pledged to buy 4691 x 50 kilograms bags of maize from each satellite depot. But the farmers are saying this sealing is too low and it has disadvantaged them because some satellite depots in Mpulungu like Vyamba and Chitimbwa produce more than 20,000 x 50 kilogrammes bags of maize annually, respectively,'' he revealed.
Simunyola said the remedy to that problem would be for FRA to extend the maize marketing season and increase the sealing from 4691 bags and ensure that they bought every grain on the market like they did last year, adding that there were still more farmers who were currently ferrying maize to satellite depots for sale.
He wondered where the farmers were going to find money to buy fertilisers for the 2009/2010 farming season if they did not sell their maize.
'' Last evening they said on TV that fertiliser distribution will begin this month end but we don't know how our farmers will access these fertilizers because government has not yet bought their maize,'' said Simunyola.
And Simunyola said that over K2 billion was needed to clear the farmers in Mpulungu who had managed to sell their maize to FRA.
He said out of the K2 billion, only K403 million had so far been released and disbursed to farmers in the district.
Labels: BRIAN CHITUWO, CAMCO CORPORATION, COSTAIN CHILALA, FRA, SILOS, STORAGE
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Rupiah warns private sector against taking advantage of FRA’s absence in some locations
Written by Kabanda Chulu and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Tuesday, June 02, 2009 3:54:36 PM
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda yesterday warned the private sector against taking advantage of the absence of the FRA in some locations and offer unreasonable prices to farmers. And President Banda said the education system must be directed to problem solving.
Officially launching the 2009/10 crop-marketing season and commissioning the rehabilitated 15,000 metric tonnes-capacity Lusaka grain silos, President Banda said the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) would this year concentrate its operations in remote areas so that the private sector could operate in the easily accessible areas.
"Government would like to see the private sector playing a leading role in crop marketing and they should not take advantage of the absence of FRA in these locations and start offering farmers unreasonable prices. Indeed the private sector participated very well in crop marketing but there was a lot of speculation by various market players," President Banda said.
"As a result the price of maize and mealie meal went up due to lack of transparency and on the part of some players who did not fully disclose the quantity of stocks they were holding thereby creating an artificial shortage of maize."
He directed the stock monitoring committee under the Ministry of Agriculture to work closely with the Central Statistical Office to ensure that stock position was closely monitored and correct information passed on to the government.
"Those found not to be accurately reporting their stocks will be dealt with within the provisions of the law," he said.
President Banda said grain silos were the most convenient means for crop handling and storage when compared to other forms of storage facilities.
"I have no doubt that the losses associated with deteriorating crop quality due to long periods of out door storage will be reduced with the rehabilitation of the silos," said President Banda.
And Zimbabwe Grain Marketing Board (GMB) vice chairman Basilio Sandamu said the development was a testimony of what could be achieved when working together.
And FRA chairman Costain Chilala said the silos would further improve FRA's capacity to sufficiently store food reserves.
And President Banda told delegates to the three-day National Curriculum Review Symposium that the country needed a curriculum that would serve as a powerful force for poverty eradication and transformation of society towards achieving the status of a middle income and prosperous nation by 2030.
"The history of curriculum reform in Zambia has, let us admit it, been less than impressive in terms of lacking harmony and clear linkages within and across learning and training levels," President Banda said in a speech read for him by presidential affairs minister Ronald Mukuma during the symposium being held at Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
"It is therefore important that fragmentation and incoherence in conceptualization of our curriculum should henceforth be eliminated. But educators know very well that curriculum design does not deal with content delineation."
Earlier, provincial education officer for Northern Province Selisho Chanda said the current education curriculum was only able to support pupils that had academic intelligence and not other spheres of education.
Labels: BASILIO SANDAMU, EDUCATION, FRA, INFRASTRUCTURE, MAIZE, RUPIAH BANDA, SILOS, ZIMBABWE
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FRA to spend $11.8m on silos countrywide
By Lillian Namungala
Sunday October 28, 2007 [03:00]
FOOD Reserve Agency (FRA) marketing manager Richard Lisimba has disclosed that $11.8 million will be spent to rehabilitate silos countrywide. Lisimba said the money had been given by the Chinese. He said K2 billion would be spent on each silo in all the nine provinces. Lisimba said the Chinese who had just finished doing visibility studies would start working on the silos soon.
And Lisimba has assured farmers that they would start getting their money next week for the maize they sold to the agency. Lisimba said the money has been acquired from the maize export programme. He said since the directive by government to export maize, the FRA had exported maize to Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It is now interesting that we are now exporting maize to South Africa,” he said.
He said this year the FRA would export over 50 per cent.
He said so far the FRA has bought 398 metric tones of maize compared to last year when they only managed to buy 250 metric tones of maize.
Meanwhile, Central Province Permanent Secretary Denny Lumbama said farmers in the province were owed K10.5 billion.
During a meeting with FRA board members in Kabwe, Lumbama urged the agency to mobiles resources to pay the farmers.
“These peasant farmers need this money to prepare for the next farming season and to produce more, these farmers need money on time,” he said.
Lumbama also appealed to FRA to put up a storage shade in Serenje. And FRA vice board chairperson charity Mwansa said despite the shortage of funds and grain bags the agency would work to ensure food security in the country.
Labels: FRA, MAIZE, SILOS
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