By Staff Reporter
Former Agriculture minister Bob Sichinga says the price Zambians are buying the mealie meal at is inevitable.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Sichinga said the country must recognize the fact that the inputs have become very costly, including corruption in the procurement of fertilizer, contributing to the high cost of the commodity itself.
However, Sichinga said he does not have the full template including other factors to tell the exact full story, but insisted that the farmer should be paid reasonably for their produce.
Sichinga said when he was minister of Agriculture, he encouraged subsidising production, and therefore transferred the subsidy that was going to the millers to the farmers, and therefore covered the cost of inputs for the farmers.
Sichinga said the K280 for the 50kg bags of maize was a move in the positive direction, and that as production increases, that will inevitably translate into increased production and eventually reduced prices.
“That’s correct. But there also have to be efficiencies along the way. They have to improve efficiencies and better management. We need to reform FISP in order make it less expensive. And there is a lot of money that is stolen through the procurement of fertilizer,
He said the absence of milling companies in areas where the consumption is taking place, like Lundazi for instance where their maize has to come to Lusaka first and sent back there as finished product pushes the price of production further.
He said what was cardinal for him is that farmers should be well paid for their produce, saying unless the maize is produced there will be no mealie meal.
“We have to encourage the producer. Evenetually when we improve our efficiency, whether it’s in procurement of fertilizer … We have to pay the farmer a satisfactory return,” Sichinga said.
The UPND administration increased the cost of the 50 kg bag of maize from K180 to K280, and Sichinga said until the production stabilises, and the farmer is getting sufficient returns, the price of the mealie meal right now was inevitable.
“And I said to you there are other costs in between that may be controlled. Let me give you and example, why’s is the fertilizer being purchased at &1500 per metric tone?” Sichinga asked, saying during his time as minister, the top dressing fertilizer was purchased at around &388 from Saudi Arabia. “That brought down the price of the inputs that we were providing.”
He said the $1500 was too expensive, whether with or without war in Ukraine.
He said the other problem was that most farmers do not save up sufficient money to pay for the subsidised fertilizer, and because of that they do not have enough money to pay for inputs, saying the best is to reform the FISP but not to entirely remove the facility.
