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The Small Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) of Zambia has expressed disappointment over the Food Reserve Agency ( FRA’s) decision to peg the maize floor price for the 2022 crop-marketing season at K160
The Small Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) of Zambia has expressed disappointment over the Food Reserve Agency ( FRA’s) decision to peg the maize floor price for the 2022 crop-marketing season at K160. www.trendsnafrica.com has earlier reported that small farmers in Zambia were expecting a higher support price since the input cost had considerably gone up in recent months.
SAFADA authorities pointed out that farmers spent between K10, 000 and K13, 000 to produce 40 bags (50kgs) of maize on one hectare. It included 8 bags of fertilizer. One bag of fertilizer costs between K500 and K800. Further, farmers need 20kg bags of seed per hectare. The other costs involved are ploughing, weeding, transportation, and all the other incidental expenses. The association representatives said that the farmers were expecting the government to buy the maize at K200 in order to help farmers recover their expenses and make a profit. A marginal increase per bag was the least that framers expected from the government, the association representatives complained.
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The association called on the government to consider offering a fair price because farmers will be demoralized and some may decide not to grow maize in the next farming season, which will affect the production of the crop. The association also said that most of the farmers are not benefited from the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). Only about 1000 farmers are covered under the FISP programme and all the other farmers have to bear all the costs by themselves.
