Govt urged to buy up maize in border areas, as farmers reportedly tap into export opportunities

The Zambia Community Development Initiative Program (ZCDIP) says it has noted with concern that some farmers in Northern and Southern Province and other parts of the country have started selling maize to foreigners who are buying the crop at a very cheap price.

ZCDIP Executive Director, Hendrix Nyambe, in a statement issued in Lusaka on Tuesday said the small-scale farmers are selling their produce at a cheap price in order to survive as the cost of living has remained relatively high.

Nyambe is concerned that the selling of the unharvested maize fields to foreigners will have a devastating effect on the country’s food security.

He said there is a likelihood of a food shortage this year if this issue is not resolved because the same farmers will remain with nothing to sustain their lives and on a broader picture it will affect the nation.

“We therefore call on the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to quickly move in and buy as much maize as possible especially from boarder districts in order to safe guard the country’s staple food,” Nyambe said.

He said the only quickest intervention is by FRA officer to ensure they are everywhere to buy this maize from farmers other than the foreigners as they will take all the maize to their countries depriving the country of a bumper harvest.

Nyambe said his organisation is also ready to work with government and to support its effort in safe guarding the food security of the country.

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