• The expectation is that FRA should peg the price at K200 per 50 kilogram.
• K200 will be much better.
• Farmers incurred a lot of expenses during the last farming season.

Small Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) has called on government through Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to increase this year’s maize price to K200 from K150 in the last crop marketing season.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, SAFADA Executive Director Boyd Moobwe said K200 is much better and will help farmers make some profit.
Mr. Moobwe noted that farmers incurred a lot of expenses during the last farming season, therefore increasing the maize price will enable them plan for the next agriculture season because they do not know how the fertilizer cost will be.
“I don’t know what the government is planning to offer the farmers, but otherwise our expectation is that FRA should peg the price at K200 per 50 kilogram, that will be much better.”
“We are looking at the expense that farmers incurred during the last farming season and also looking at the next farming season because we don’t know how the fertilizer cost will be, so just to make them at least be able to attend to any outcomes, K200 is okay,” Mr. Moobwe said.
During the 2021/2022 Crop marketing season, FRA was buying a 50 kg bag of maize at K150, 50 kg bag of soya beans at K500 and 40kg of paddy rice at K200.