Maize Floor price set at K70 per bag

Making the announcement in a ministerial statement in Parliament this morning, Mr Simuusa has also announced that the maize marketing season will commence on 1st July, 2014, in areas where the maize moisture has reached the stipulated standard of 12.5 percent.

Mr Simuusa names the areas as Southern, Luapula, Lusaka, Eastern and Northern provinces.

He says the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) will this marketing season buy maize and Paddy Rice in remote areas across the country where the private sector will most likely not venture.

Mr Simuusa says the FRA will purchase 500,000 metric tonnes of maize and 2,100 mteric tonnes of Paddy rice.

He adds that the same number of satellite depots which stood at 115 used in the previous marketing season will be maintained.

Mr Simuusa has also stated that farmers will be paid promptly this marketing season, and that farmers will continue to receive payment through appointed financial institutions in various locations.

He adds that besides the arrangements made for payment of farmers and designation of satellite depots, more than 50% of empty grain bags and other marketing requisites are already in place.

And Mr Simuusa says it is envisaged that all farming inputs for the 2014/2015 would have reached farmers across the country by end of August 2014.

He says government is determined to address the perennial cry of late delivery of farming inputs by ensuring that all inputs reach farmers on time.

Mr Simuusa says government has targeted to increase to the small scale farmers under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) from 900,000 to 1,000,000 million beneficiaries.

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