PNUP leader, Hamududu, faults food agency for setting select crop prices during marketing season

Party for National Unity and Progress (PNUP) president, Highvie Hamududu, says there is need for Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to announce indicative crop prices before the farming season.

Hamududu was responding to the Food Reserve Agency announcement of the floor price on Wednesday, where it has pegged a 50 kilogramme bag of maize at K280.

He said in a statement on Wednesday that doing so would enable farmers make informed decisions on production beforehand.

“The tradition of announcing selected crop prices by the government through its agency, FRA after the farming season is not right and must be changed, as it is an ambush on the farmers since farmers will have already produced,” he said.

Hamududu observed that prices were the biggest incentive for any production including farming.

He said farmers need cost reflective prices to increase production as he observed that as long as the producer is given a low due, the country should forget about increasing production as farming is not charity but business.

“Policy makers in government must also understand that profitable agriculture is the fastest way to create jobs and fight poverty and income inequalities; and easily earn foreign exchange through exports, since over 70 percent of our citizens are involved in this sector,” Hamududu said.

He said agriculture has the lowest hanging fruits to improve the welfare our of people and grow the economy hence the sector should be given evidence-based policy interventions and facilitation by government.

FRA has pegged this season’s floor price at K280 per 50 kilograms of white maize from the previous market season of K180 per 50 kg.

The Agency has also announced that this season it will not set the floor price for soya beans nor buy from farmers citing enough stocks.

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