Sat, 29 Jul 2017 12:25:45 +0000
By KELVIN SIABANA
SMALL and Medium Scale farmers in Luanshya’s Fisenge farming block say the maize floor price which has been put at K60 for a 50-kg bag for the 2016/17 farming season by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) was too low.
The farmers said farming is a labour intensive occupation and they invest a lot of money during cultivation and harvesting time.
The farmers said agriculture is a critical industry to the country’s economic growth because the small and medium scale farmers contribute positively to the food security at household level in various parts of the country.
Representing other farmers, Muna Chona said that instead of the FRA pegging an attractive floor price for maize to attract farmers to grow more in the 2017/18 farming season, the K60 for a 50-kg bag has dampened the morale of the small and medium scale farmers in Fisenge farming block.
Mr Chona said the decision by FRA to put the floor price of maize of a 50-kg at K60 will force most of the farmers in the farming bloc to sell their maize to briefcase business men because the offer by the FRA was too low.
He said that it is unfortunate that after toiling hard for the 2016/17 farming season, the FRA does not appreciate the efforts that small and medium scale farmers put in.
Mr Chona said the small and medium scale farmers in the country are important because they were the majority as they have realised that agriculture is the engine of the country apart from the mining sector.
The farmers said that most of them in Fisenge depend on FRA to buy their maize because the agency buy in bulk and it is a trust worthy organisation unlike the briefcase businessmen, but the amount of K60 was unacceptable by any farmer.
The farmers said the cost of farming was high because farming inputs and other agricultural requirements were expensive.
