• The expectation is high.
• Most likely the price is going to be K150 per 150 kilogram bag.
• FRA was buying a 50 kilogram bag of maize at K110 in the last marketing season.

An Agriculture Expert says farmers have high expectations regarding this year’s maize price which will soon be announced by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Dr. Frank Kayula said most farmers expect the price to be pegged at K150 for a 50 Kilogram bag of maize because the cost of all commodities has gone up by almost two to three times.
Dr. Kayula however observed that it may not be possible for FRA to pay high prices owing to the fact that government coffers are very low.
He noted that based on the expenses that farmers incurred, the breakeven price is much higher than the anticipated price especially for those who never accessed Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) because a bag of fertilizer is costing beyond K200 to produce 150 Kilogram bag of maize.
“Most likely the price is going to be K150 per 150 kilogram bag but the expectation is high. Everything has gone up by almost to 2 to 3 times the prices we used to have last year and the previous year, and so the farmers are also expecting that the prices should be high.”
“But from the look of things and the capability of FRA to manage to pay high prices, it may not be possible. The coffers of the government we are aware are very low, and I am not expecting very much difference from last year, K150 probably will be for this year,” Dr. Kayula stated.
And Dr. Kayula said K150 may be okay for farmers who had access to FISP as they are likely to make a bit of profit, and may be able to fill the granary very easily.
“However, when we look at the expenses that the farmers incurred, we find that the breakeven price is much higher than that particularly for the farmers who never accessed FISP. For those who accessed FISP, a K150 they are likely to make a bit of money but for those who didn’t access it, unfortunately a bag of fertilizer is costing beyond K200 to produce 150 Kg bag of maize and if they are given K150 by FRA, it means they will not be able to get back whatever they spent,” he noted.
In the last marketing season, Food Reserve Agency (FRA) was buying a 50 kilogram bag of maize at K110, including the 2019/2020 marketing season.