• If the maize buying period is extended, it may create hunger in the community.
• Farmers may end up selling all their grain.
• Very soon the whole maize will be sold out and this will be a burden on government.

Small Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) has urged Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to prioritize household food security within the farming community even as they increase the maize purchase target.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Organization Executive Director, Boyd Moobwe said if the maize buying period is extended, it may create hunger in the community.
Mr. Moobwe stated that this is because farmers may end up selling all their grain and this will be a burden on government to start looking for relief food.
“If they are planning to increase the amount of maize to buy this year it’s quite a good move because farmers are still selling their maize, but according to our observation, I don’t think we have a bumper harvest per say and very soon the whole maize will be sold out,” Mr. Moobwe observed.
Mr. Moobwe however said increasing the amount of maize to buy this year is a good move because FRA is offering an attractive price of K280, while the private sector is buying the crop at K300.
“However, let FRA buy because it’s the major buyer and they are offering a good price of K280 and the private sector is also giving a very good price, they are buying at K300. So we are going to see our farmers getting good income as they try to prepare for the next farming season.”
“They can buy the maize but let us look at household food security. If the period is extended, we may end up creating hunger in the community because people want money so with a good price, they may end up selling everything and again that will be a burden on government to start looking for grain, supplying relief food and so on, which we don’t expect this year, at least farmers did well despite the fact that we don’t have a bumper harvest,” he added.
FRA has increased the maize purchase target from 500, 000 metric tonnes to 1 million metric tonnes for this year’s crop marketing season due to availability of the crop on the market.