Kabwe farmers exploited

Businessmen are reported to be taking advantage of farmers by buying maize for as little as K190 by 50 kilogram bag despite the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) offering K330 for the grain last year. Provincial Principal Public Relations Officer Tobias Phiri has advised the farmers across the province from selling their maize at a giveaway price, saying they should wait till the government sets the floor price to benefit from their investments. Mr Phiri who was speaking in Kabwe, said that the moisture content of maize from the 2025-2026 farming season is still too high and that buying the maize for storage and resale is not good.

He stated that it is unfair that some farmers are being offered as low as K190 and K200 which he said was far below their cost of production. Mr Phiri has since called on District Agricultural Coordinators to sensitize the farmers against selling their maize at low prices if they are to get a return out of their investment. He said Central Province is poised to record another bumper harvest this year due to the good rainfall the province has experienced.

Mr Phiri says the anticipated bumper harvest is also due to the timely delivery of farm inputs for the 2025-2026 farming season. Taking advantage of farmers? Its a free economy, so market forces dictate.