By JOHN KOMBE
GOVERNMENT cannot afford not to pay farmers for the maize supplied to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) as this would have a negative impact on both household and national food security, veteran politician, George Mpombo has said.
In an interview, Dr. Mpombo said the new dawn government must urgently find ways of paying the farmers who desperately need funds to reinvest in their agriculture activities.
He said that most farmers depend on the sales from the produce to buy inputs for the successive farming seasons.
He advised the government to prioritise the payment of farmers and that it cannot gamble with paying small-scale farmers who contribute greatly to the national food basket.
Dr. Mpombo said the new dawn government must not forget the promises it made to the people, ensuring that farmers were paid on time.
Dr. Mpombo observed that most of the maize suppliers who were small-scale farmers cannot afford to source funds from elsewhere for them to buy inputs.
The government must listen to the cries of the poor farmers by doing the right thing.
Dr. Mpombo said for now what was important was to ensure that farmers are empowered to produce more.
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