Govt seeks new ways to pay rural farmers

Sat, 20 May 2017 10:47:57 +0000

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU 

GOVERNMENT will consider engaging Zoona money transfer in distributing resources to farmers, particularly in the rural areas, in the next farming season, Minister of Finance, Felix Mutati, has said.

Mr Mutati observed that Government would in the next farming season allocate resources to Zoona to assist farmers at district level collect their money for inputs.

“We would want to work with you, particularly in the next farming season. We are transferring money the old traditional way; officers from ministries of Agriculture and Finance go with bags of money in the villages.

“The only evidence we have got that it has been paid is a signed signature of somebody that may or may not have received the money. We have to look at transmission mechanisms using technology and making it easier for people,” he said.

Mr Mutati was speaking at the Zoona transaction investor dinner in Lusaka.

He explained that Zoona was using technology which dealt with financial inclusion constraints and bottlenecks.

“We have been talking about financial inclusion, you have just given us an answer on how we can reach that person and include him in the financial cycle. We are going to see how we can give you a portion even with one or two districts; even being able to say this is the best way for Government to send money,” he said.

And Zoona chief executive, Mike Quinn, said the company in the last quarter handled US$1.7 billion from customers through mobile money transactions.

Mr Quinn also said Zoona agents had realised US$15 million from the services they provided, while creating over 300 jobs.

He observed that the financial gap was increasing in the sub-Saharan Africa due to a large number of young people who were being productive.

Meanwhile, Zoona chief marketing officer, Lelemba Phiri, announced that the company would unveil new and improved pricing structure on June 1st 2017 which would reduce fees of up to 60 percent.