By ADRIAN MWANZA
Government should consider clearing farmers who had supplied their maize and other produces to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) so that production in the next farming season is not affected, Shiwangandu Member of Parliament Stephen Kampyongo has said.
Mr Kampyongo said that some farmers in Shiwangandu have not been paid their money from FRA despite having supplied a long time ago.
He said the delays would have serious consequences on the economy because the farmers who feed the nation were not paid.
“I’m happy that finally the rains have started but imagine that is when the farmers have started being paid their dues,” he said.
Mr Kampyongo said that it was unfortunate that the minister was even suggesting that they could have borrowed so that they could continue to stay afloat.
He said that it was prudent for the President to come forward and explain to the Zambian people what was going on.
Mr Kampyongo said that farmers were now getting agitated by the slow process of payment and that government needed to pay.
“In our time such a thing never happened because we ensured that we sorted them out in time for them to prepare for the next farming season,’’ he said.
He said the country never had challenges even if some provinces were hit with droughts they were cushioned by the fact that preparations were done properly.
