SMALL-SCALE MILLERS NEED BOOST

By SANDRA MACHIMA GOVERNMENT must strictly supervise and increase maize sales to rural communities as opposed to commercial millers in a bid to enhance activities of small-scale millers.

Zambia Agriculture Rural Initiative executive director Gilbert Mpanga has noted that all those who were buying maize in Zambia be it the Food Reserve Agency or private buyers, were buying some from rural farmers.

He said both public and private buyers supplied maize to commercial millers and as a result there was no supervision to enhance the activities of small-scale millers in rural areas.

“Most of these rural millers they only wait for people to bring their maize to them and grind for them at a certain fee per tin or gallon, and it is rare to find small-scale millers produce mealie meal for sale in their communities,” he said.

Mr Mpanga said his organisation was now prompted to request for partnership with a Chinese company Anyayi Machinery to supply some 10-ton per day per milling plant to its affiliated cooperatives, women’s clubs, and youth groups in rural areas to enable them supply cheap and affordable mealie-meal to the rural communities.

Mr Mpanga appealed to the government to strictly supervise and increase maize sales to rural communities as opposed to commercial millers in a bid to enhance activities of small-scale millers to provide cheaper alternatives for communities.