LOW FOOD SUPPLY WORRIES LUNGU - MINISTER

THE Food Reserve Agency (FRA) should cast its net wide to buy more maize and replenish the low food reserves, Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo has directed.

Mr Katambo said the country's food reserves currently stood at 6, 000 metric tonnes and that there is urgent need to replenish stocks to guarantee national food security.

He said this yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Veronica Mwiche at her office.

Mr Katambo said FRA should reach out to more farmers in far flung areas who are failing to take their maize to its depots and buy grain from them.

"The President is concerned with the low national strategic food reserves and has directed my ministry to buy more maize to replenish them. I am therefore urging FRA to enhance its methods of purchasing maize from our farmers so that we meet our target of over one million metric tonnes," Mr Katambo said.

Mr Katambo urged the provincial administration to embark on massive sensitisation through radio programmes and outreach campaigns to encourage farmers sell their maize to FRA.

"I want to encourage farmers to sell their maize to FRA because it is giving cash and that their measuring scales are not tampered with. This grain is for everyone including the same farmers who sell their maize because they run to government when there is drought or other natural calamities," he said.

Later, Mr Katambo toured fertiliser depots around Chipata and expressed gratitude at the early distribution of farm inputs.

And Ms Mwiche said the province has so far bought 24, 000 metric tonnes of maize out of total target of 200, 000 metric tonnes.

She said the purchase of maize from farmers is low due to transport challenges some farmers in remote areas are facing to take their maize to the market.

"We have so far started engaging traditional leaders so that they can convince farmers to sell their maize to FRA as opposed to brief case buyers, we are also reaching put to them so that we lessen their cost of transport to the selling depots," Ms Mwiche said.

She also expressed happiness at the early delivery of farm inputs in the province.

Meanwhile Neria's Investments has completed delivering fertiliser to all its depots in the province.

Company General Manager Martin Chaikatisha said the firm has added an extra 10, 000 metric tonnes on top of its target of 63, 000 metric tonnes in case of eventualities.