By Martin Lubasi
NATSAVE Bank acting managing director Lucas Hara says over K1.9 billion of the K2.1 billion has been paid to the farmers who delivered their produce to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) from the 2024-2025 farming season.
In a statement, Hara states that the cumulative funds disbursed into the banking channel covered by this return amounted to ZMW 2,119,558,557.72, of which ZMW 1,943,889,197.14 had been paid to farmers, translating into an overall payout performance of 92 percent.
He stated that the remaining balance recorded as pending farmer payments stood at ZMW 285.2 million after accounting for transactions in motion, including payments executed offsite and pending posting in core banking ledgers.
”From a district-level performance standpoint, several locations are already at or near completion, including SOLWEZI (99.99 percent), MANSA (FOR MWENSE AND CHIPILI) (99.91 percent), CHAVUMA (99.14 percent), and CHAMA (98.91 percent). CHILUBI (97percent), KASAMA (98%) CHINSALI (98%), NCHELENGE (97%) This performance demonstrates that where verification, posting, and beneficiary access conditions are stable, the payment pipeline is functioning effectively,” Hara stated. “At the same time, the data also shows that the districts with the lowest recorded completion rates are disproportionately those with significant offsite payments yet to be posted, which can temporarily understate payout percentages even when farmers have already been served in the field. This is most evident in districts such as LUWINGU, CHIENGI, KAPUTA, and MPOROKOSO, where large-value offsite transactions are reflected as pending posting.”
He stated that in operational terms, this is primarily a sequencing issue between field execution and system posting, rather than a withdrawal of commitment or a constraint on available funds.
”I wish to assure all farmers and stakeholders that NATSAVE BANK is treating the remaining payment workload as a high-priority service-delivery obligation. Our immediate operational focus is on accelerating end-to-end completion through tighter reconciliation cycles, strengthened posting controls for offsite execution streams, and reinforced coordination with FRA and the relevant public finance authorities to ensure that every properly verified beneficiary is paid in full and on time,” Hara stated. “NATSAVE BANK is also intensifying customer support at district level to reduce avoidable delays linked to documentation mismatches, beneficiary verification exceptions, and queue-management challenges that typically arise when payment activity peaks simultaneously across multiple locations. We urge farmers to continue engaging only through official, verified channels and to report any suspected irregularities to the appropriate authorities and our bank teams on the ground.”
He stated that they remained committed to disciplined execution, clean reconciliation, and transparent reporting. As the posting of offsite transactions is completed and residual balances are cleared, the payout percentage will continue to rise toward full settlement.
”NATSAVE BANK will provide further updates in line with the next validated return,” stated Hara.
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