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Dear Editor

A LOT has been talked about the poor selling price of maize, both by the Food Reserve Agency and the general public

According to what the chairman of FRA Mr. Joe H. Simachela said, it appears the Board is interested in getting the maize at a low price to suit their budget.

The chairman says also that they as a Board, consulted widely to arrive at that price of K . per kg.

Did the FRA Board ignore the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) which is the mother union of all farmers, small, medium, cooperatives and commercial, although not all commercial farmers belong to ZNFU.

The FRA Board chairman stated that some organisations and other stakeholders should not complain about the Àoor price.

You use the word FLOOR PRICE, does any ordinary small-scale farmer know what that means" Please be specific when you say that you have consulted widely.

May I take you back to the colonial era of Northern Rhodesia? At that time there were no small or medium farmers etc.

The colonialists encouraged people to form cooperative societies which were categorised as follows: Primary and Multipurpose. Primary meant anything to do with agricultural sectors, maize, millet, rice, groundnuts, Multipurpose meant that one coop society could have poultry farming, grocery coop society, transport society etc.

At that time prices of agriculture nature were determined by provincial cooperative unions.

If you were in Eastern Province, prices were given to the Government’s Agent called Rhodesia Grain Marketing Board whose headquarters was in Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe.

At the break up of Federation each of the two Rhodesias had its grain marketing board.

The important aspect of pricing agric produce was that the grain marketing board were given prices by cooperative unions of each province through the central government.

Please note that there was no one price for the whole country. For example Southern Province Cooperative Union had its own price for maize, groundnuts, sorghum etc.

In determining the prices cooperative unions took into account the rain pattern in the province, the type of produce and the labour involved.

My appeal in conclusion is I would like that the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, Fisheries and more importantly the Department of Cooperative Societies to sit together to determine the prices of commodities of produce.

In short, l am asking the powers that be to be mindful that FRA is an agent of Government and not a farmer or cooperative society.

Prices of any gricultural produce should be determined by the farmers

FORMER COOPERATIVE OFFICER.