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The Small Scale Farmers Development Agency ( SAFADA) of Zambian farmers has disclosed that it was confident that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) would be realistic and increase the maize floor price for the 2021-22 crop-marketing season to take into account the increased cost of production
The Small Scale Farmers Development Agency ( SAFADA) of Zambian farmers has disclosed that it was confident that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) would be realistic and increase the maize floor price for the 2021-22 crop-marketing season to take into account the increased cost of production.
However, the increase in the FRA maize price is feared as it is expected to trigger a domino increase in the price of mealie meals – Zambia’s staple food, a well-known and highly charged political issue. But the situation on the ground leaves limited wiggle room for FRA as input costs have increased, some having doubled within the year.
SAFADA Executive Director Boyd Moobwe said SAFADA did not expect FRA to maintain the K150 for a 50kg bag of maize in the 2020-21 crop-marketing season. The cost of production for farmers, he said, went up last year due to the increase in prices of fertilizer, seed, and other inputs.
Moobwe said FRA should raise the buying price for a 50kg bag of maize from the previous K150 to at least K200 so that farmers could cover their cost of production in addition to a minimal profit. He further added that if the farmers take into consideration everything that was involved in the production of maize besides the inputs, K250 would be a reasonable price for the purchase of a 50kg bag of maize this year. Farmers need to use these sale proceeds to buy fertilizers, seeds, chemicals, and other inputs.
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The farmers, the association representative said, were buying a bag of fertilizer between K600 and K700. Therefore, the need for government to raise the buying price to K250, which may not even be enough when the farmers look at how much they spent on seeds, ploughing, and weeding among other things.
