Maize price negotiations between the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) and the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) have broken down with the union abandoning talks to pursue direct discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture. A reliable source told Africanfarming.com that ZNFU at the weekend decided to talk to government directly, after…
The Zambian government has uncovered an alleged scam where a family formed cooperatives for the sole purpose of getting inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). This as the Ministry of Agriculture conducts a review of the programme to prevent abuses before the roll-out of FISP for the new…
The Zambian government has broadened the number of crops to be covered under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) to accelerate crop diversification. Agricultural minister Dora Siliya said the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) will buy all crops produced by farmers under FISP. “FISP will now support about 10 crops to…
Farmers are concerned that the local maize market might implode as a consequence of an oversupply, aggravated by the current ban on exports. Their concerns are fueled by a forecast of a reduction in the uptake of grain by the surrounding region, which was also expected to have a surplus…
Two employees from the Zambian ministry of agriculture have been arrested in connection with the theft of fertiliser under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). It is the first arrest where government officials are directly linked to alleged racketeering schemes. Corruption is believed to be rife in the distribution of…
Zambia has run out of urea fertiliser, sparking concerns of a rise in the price of the commodity. “The demand for urea, which is used as a top dressing fertiliser, has grown, thereby creating a shortage,” agricultural minister Dora Siliya told parliament. Agriculture permanent secretary Julius Shawa urged private agro…
The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries has vaccinated more than 100 000 head of cattle in Itezhi-tezhi district, in Central Province, against foot and mouth disease. It forms part of a nationwide routine programme. Itezhi-tezhi is reputed to have an animal population that outnumbers people. A 2010 census put the…
Government has confirmed officials were involved in unlawfully selling inputs and embezzling cash under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). In a related development the Zambian National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has threatened to ban agro dealers who were inflating prices, from participating in the FISP e-voucher system in future. “We…
Mealie-meal prices are expected to drop by up to K15 per 25kg bag in the coming week. This after the conclusion of a government brokered maize deal with the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) and the Grain Traders Association of Zambia (GTAZ). Under the new deal…
An agriculture NGO claims extension officers in the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) are abusing the system. The claims by the Zambia Agriculture Rural Development Initiative (ZARDI) came amid mounting pressure to eradicate problems in FISP’s management. President Edgar Lungu said he would soon constitute a team of experts to…
Government and the Indaba Agriculture Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) differs on the impact of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) subsidy. Agriculture permanent secretary Julius Shawa told parliament’s budget committee FISP subsidies have been pivotal in improving productivity in the agriculture sector. This while IAPRI acting executive director Ballad Zulu…
President Edgar Lungu has warned government officials to iron out bottlenecks in the distribution of farming inputs. Speaking in Eastern Province, where he checked on the progress of the delivery of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) after good rains, Lungu expressed disappointment with the late rollout of services. “I…
The government has released ZMW300 million to accelerate the delivery of agricultural input to farmers. Minister of Agriculture, Dora Siliya, confirmed in Lusaka that release of these funds would fast-track distribution of seed and fertiliser to areas that have not yet received inputs. “The ZMW300 million is to clear outstanding…
The army worm invasion that hit the country a little more than a week ago has gained ground in 2 000ha of maize lands in the Copperbelt Province. There is rising concern that further outbreaks could destroy a significant percentage of the Zambian maize crop. The government has assisted about…
President Edgar Lungu has said he would not tolerate further delays in farming input deliveries. The president warned that he would act against civil servants who did not comply with his directive to finish the task of delivering and distributing inputs. Lungu said he was making public servants responsible for…
In a dramatic departure from procedure, President Edgar Lungu announced, on Thursday, that the government is to liberalise the price of maize, at the start of the next marketing season, to boost the staple crop’s productivity. There has been a positive response to this news from farmers across the board,…
The Millers Association of Zambia’s (MAZ) president, Andrew Chintala, said, in an interview today, that traders had agreed to make 500 000t of maize available on the local market after negotiations with government, the Zambian National Farmers Union (ZNFU), the Grain Traders Association and other stakeholders. “This development will mean…
The Zambian maize export ban would probably stay in place until February, despite current stocks being sufficient to supply local demand. This was the outcome of a recent meeting held to discuss issues in the Zambian grain industry. Exporting partners agreed not to export maize until after a stakeholders’ review…
Stakeholders at a recent meeting in the rice industry identified several obstacles that still hampered Zambian rice production and exports. Limited access to good quality and a variety of seed was the main concern. Other problems were market access and low levels of mechanisation along the whole value chain. Rice was…
During a recent meeting between the Zambian National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) and the ministers of finance and agriculture, the union brought several worrying factors affecting growth in the agricultural sector, to the attention of the ministers. “The ZNFU pointed out that the high cost of doing business because of the…
Zambia could grow its capacity to meet strong demand for sheep and goats from the Saudi Arabian market, according to the chairman of the Small Livestock Association of Zambia, Trust Chasha. Zambian small stock farmers had the numbers to meet export requirements of more than a million animals a month,…
Farmers with outstanding payments for delivering grain to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) will be paid before the end of the month. Zambian Minister of Agriculture, Dora Siliya, recently told the Zambian National Farmers Union (ZNFU) that farmers still owed money by the FRA will be paid within the next…
The slow inflow of maize into the Lundazi district has prompted the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to close a total of 17 satellite depots. According to the latest brief from the ZNFU, the FRA set out a target of purchasing 19 200 tons of white maize in the district, located…
Farming is becoming more difficult and challenging in the weakening Zambian economy, with farmers’ unions warning about difficult times ahead. Farmers at the annual general meetings of the Mkushi District Farmers Association (DFA) and the Chisamba DFA, said various worrisome factors currently had a negative influence: “Farmers will remain poor…
