• Farmers are disappointed with the K160 maize price.
• They were expecting at least K200.
• An increment of K10 is a mockery.

Small Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) has described Food Reserve Agency (FRA)’s decision to increase the maize price by K10 during the 2022 crop marketing season as a mockery to the farmers.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Organization Executive Director Boyd Moobwe said farmers are not impressed with K160 maize price set by FRA in view of the high cost of farming inputs.
Mr. Moobwe stated that farmers were expecting the Agency to peg the maize price at K200 and not K160 which is an increment of K10 from last year’s price.
He said there is no profit in growing maize and most local farmers are not able to produce as expected, hence most of them have remained on the level.
“That is nothing and we are very disappointed, I don’t know what they think about farmers. We are not impressed, inform FRA that farmers are not impressed. We were expecting at least K200, K160 is nothing, an increment of K10 that’s a mockery.”
“For us who are doing farming, there is no profit in maize and to make matters worse, our farmers cannot produce as expected in agriculture, that is why farmers are not growing, they are still on the same level,” Mr. Moobwe lamented.
Last week, Food Reserve Agency (FRA) announced that it will buy a 50 kilogram bag of white maize at K160, 50 kilogram bag of soya beans at K550 which translates K11 per kilogram, while paddy rice will be bought at K200 per 40 kilogram bag during the 2022 Crop marketing season.