Bumper maize crop cheers ZNFU

THE Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has hailed farmers for rising above challenges faced during the last farming season to record a bumper harvest. ZNFU president Jervis Zimba yesterday said farmers faced numerous challenges such as late delivery of input distribution and uneven rain patterns across the country but that they were happy that farmers had delivered. He said ZNFU recognised the challenges the farmers went through last season but that this notwithstanding, they rose against adversity. “The Zambia National Farmers’ Union would like to thank most sincerely all farmers, the small-scale, emergent and large-scale for producing 3, 387, 469 metric tonnes of maize to make Zambia food secure. “We do recognise the challenges the farmers went through last season i.e. the high cost of inputs and the uneven distribution of rain. This notwithstanding, you rose against adversity. Once again well done to the farmers of Zambia,” he said. And Mr Zimba appealed to farm produce off-takers such as the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to offer farmers economically-sound prices for their commodities. He said the 2020/2021 season was just a few months away and that giving farmers a good price for their produce would help them reinvest and adequately prepare for the coming season. “We urge our farmers to now focus on the marketing aspects. We would like to urge all the off-takers especially the Food Reserve Agency to pay an economic price to the farmers and to pay the farmers on time. “We are five months away from the 2020/2021 farming season and we do recognise that the input costs have increased due to various factors. It is only by paying farmers an economic price for the maize that we can expect them to reinvest for the coming season,” Mr Zimba said.