By John Kombe
The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) in Chongwe has purchased 65, 159 X 50 kg bags of maize in the current crop marketing season, Chongwe district commissioner, Robster Mwanza has said.
Mr. Mwanza made the observation when he inspected the FRA shed in Chongwe yesterday. He was happy that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) had bought a substantial amount of maize that would contribute to national food security.
He said that the maize purchase was testimony of the resilience of the farmers who had continued to contribute to the national food basket. He said that Chongwe framers had continued to score high yields due to their commitment to agriculture. He therefore urged them to continue putting the FISP support to good use. He said that the bumper harvest was also enhanced by the government’s early distribution of agriculture inputs in the 2020/2021 farming season.
He disclosed that FRA undertook the purchases in about 11 satellite depots which were dotted across the district. He noted that the agency did not buy enough maize from the two districts last season and had therefore increased the depots to capture more farmers. He said that this was also meant to bring the depots as close to the people as possible.
He urged the farmers in Chongwe to continue selling their maize produce to FRA as a way of thanking the government for its continued support. He said that selling the maize to the government was also meant to assure national food security. He said that this would ensure that household food security is also enhanced.
