Zambia records 0.016pc maize loss

ZAMBIA has recorded a maize loss of 0.01 percent due to insufficient storage facilities, a report on the independent audit of maize stock-take exercise has revealed.

In an interview yesterday, Food Reserve Agency (FRA) executive director Chola Kafwabulula said in the past FRA used to lose maize up to 25 percent by way of crop wastage but with new management such losses are no longer there.

Mr. Kafwabulula said the audit was conducted because stakeholders wanted to know the status of maize FRA was holding in terms of quantity and quality.

He said the independent audit team, which included the Plant Quarantine Psytophanitary Services, the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, the Ministry of Agriculture, FRA, and another unnamed stakeholder, went round and did a physical count of the maize the agency was holding.

He said after the verification, the team observed that there was a total loss of 0.016 percent of the maize FRA was holding.

“This means that FRA is beating the industry standard of 5 percent crop loss, which is allowed. But considering that this maize is bought from taxpayers’ money management and the board feel that 5 percent is too much.

“Even the 0.016 percent is attributed to the fact that we have insufficient storage facilities and some of the maize, as a temporary measure, is put on upstanding slabs. If we had adequate storage facilities our crop loss would have been 0 percent,” Mr. Kafwabulula said.

He also said in the last crop marketing season FRA opened 1, 258 satellite depots and employed over 5,000 youths, both young men and ladies, in the buying points.

He said FRA targets school leavers deliberately as an empowerment method in a way because when they have been employed as seasonal maize buyers they are able to raise money for their tertiary education.