ACAF Nods k340 Maize Price

Agriculture Climate Action Foundation (ACAF) says the K340 price of maize for a 50kg bag is fair enough as prices of inputs such as fertilizer and seed have stabilized in the past two farming seasons.

On Tuesday, Food Reserve Agency (FRA) announced that it will be buying a 50kg bag of Grade A white maize at K340, and paddy rice at K7.50 per kilogram translating into K300 for a 40kg bag.

Speaking in an interview with Money News, ACAF Executive Director Dr. Oliver Bulaya noted that stability in prices of farming inputs is based on the enormous investment in the seed industry and fertilizer production within the country.

Dr. Bulaya stated that this has resulted in less dependency on imports as most of the agriculture inputs are now being produced locally.

“The announcement of the K340 maize buying price by Government through the FRA was expected looking at the prevailing market trends in terms of higher production that we have attained this year and positive economic fundamentals in the sense that the prices of inputs such as fertilizer and seed have stabilized in the past two seasons.”

“This is based on the fact that there is enormous investment in the seed industry and fertilizer production within our country. There is less dependency on imports as most of these products are being produced locally which is good for our country,”Dr. Bulaya said.

He added that farmers can therefore make profits out of the set maize price but that they still need to do more in terms of increasing yields.

“Our farmers can make profits out of this but I think there is one aspect where they need to do much more in terms of increasing yields per unit area and I think this is one area that is affecting production and productivity levels amongst our smallholder farmers.”

“It is very important for FRA to always announce the price early even if they are not participating in the market to protect farmers,” he added.

Dr. Bulaya observed that most farmers have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous dealers in the maize marketing due to lack of guidance.

“This is one area that has been affecting our smallholder farmers most of the time, therefore the need for FRA to protect them,” he stated.