FRA depots bring relief To Lavushimanda maize…

Farmers in Mupamadzi ward of Lavushimanda District in Muchinga Province have thanked Government for bringing the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) maize depots closer to them. ‎This follows the opening of four satellite deports in the area, which started operating last maize marketing season. ‎One of the Farmers, Poster Kunda stated that the opening of the Kalonje Mpanga satellite depot by the Government in the area has assisted in addressing the high cost of transportation of Maize, thereby reducing post-harvest losses.

‎Mr Kunda has however asked government to ensure that a shelter is put on the satellite depot in order to secure the maize and protect it from the rains and sun. ‎“I commend the government for this depot because most of us use to suffer loses in transporting our maize to another deport, which is far from here”, he said. ‎Another Farmer, Pressley Mupeta echoed similar sentiments stating that he used to cover a long distance of over five kilometres to transport his maize to Mupamadzi maize deport at a high cost.

‎He said the opening of Kalonje Mpanga Maize depot now allows farmers to easily transport their maize using available means of transport such as bicycles or ox-cart because the distance has been reduced as he also thanked government for the development. ‎“I can now manage to use available transport to bring my maize here and for this reason, I thank government for bringing our maize market closer”, he said. ‎And Lavushimanda District Commissioner, Terries Kunda who recently visited the area and talked to the farmers said government will address the concerns of farmers such as network challenges and lack of equipment’s such as sieves.

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‎Mr Kunda also assured farmers that no Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) tax will be deducted from their monies received after selling Maize to FRA, adding that the issue of mobile network challenges raised by farmers will also be addressed. ‎“Our government is attending to all your concerns and be rest assured that no ZRA tax will be deducted from your money apart from the little normal transaction amounts being deducted by your mobile service providers”, he said. ‎Among the concerns raised by farmers in Kalonje Mpanga include poor mobile network, inadequate sieves and high illiterate levels by some farmers who are unable to read and write when they receive any communication from FRA with regard to the selling of Maize.

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