Food agency asks for maize from farmers, pledges to buy commodity at K330 per 50kg

The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has pledged to buy a 50 kilogramme bag of maize at K330 or K6,600 per metric tonne from farmers.

The Agency, therefore, appealed to Zambians and organisations with white maize to sell to the agency as one of the measures to deal with the drought that put the country’s food security at risk.

FRA Executive Director, Mwansa Chamatete, said all FRA main holding depots countrywide were open, and ready to receive maize that met acceptable quality and standards as per law required.

He said this in a statement issued on Friday.

“Any individual or organisation with white maize can deliver the commodity to the nearest FRA main holding depot countrywide and payment will be made within the shortest possible time upon processing of documentation.

“The Agency is also buying non-genetically modified white maize on the Zambia Commodity Exchange (ZAMACE) platform,” he said.

Chamatete explained that ZAMACE was an online, transparent market place for the trading of agricultural commodities, certification of storage sites, grading and valuation of stored commodities under warehouse receipts, as well as an enabler for the financial sector to finance warehouse receipts.

He noted that the decision was arrived at following the declaration of a drought in the country as a national disaster by President Hakainde Hichilema.

Chamatete said various response mechanisms to address the situation had been put in place through the Ministry of Agriculture and the FRA.

“The Agency wishes to state that the above response measures are supplementary interventions in addition to the annual crop marketing season which entails the buying of crops from small scale farmers aimed at replenishing the national strategic food reserves to ensure sustained national food security,” he said.

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