Lusaka Province reports buying 55,000 metric tonnes of maize worth K400 million

Lusaka Province has reportedly purchased over 55,000 metric tonnes of white maize from farmers, valued at about K400 million as of August 20, 2025, authorities have disclosed.

According to Food Reserve Agency (FRA) Provincial Marketing Coordinator, Lundu Sichale, more than 65,000 metric tonnes of maize were still available on the market.

Sichale shared the update during a tour of satellite depots in Chongwe, Rufunsa, and Luangwa districts by Lusaka Province Minister Sheal Mulyata, who visited to assess progress and challenges in the ongoing crop marketing season.

“Satellite depots in Rufunsa and Chongwe have been overwhelmed by congestion as farmers have been trooping to sell their maize at K340 per 50-kilogram bag,” Sichale said.

In response, Minister Mulyata assured farmers that no FRA depot would be closed before all maize deliveries were completed.

“All the maize will be bought by your government. The President has sent me here, and I can assure you that every farmer will sell their maize. There is no need to panic,” she stated.

Despite congestion at the depots, Mulyata expressed satisfaction with the prompt payments being made to farmers.

She urged the FRA to quickly address challenges arising in the field to avoid frustrating farmers, while commending them for their increased maize output.

Mulyata attributed the bumper harvest partly to the government’s improved Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP)and President Hakainde Hichilema’s emphasis on scaling up maize and other crop production, supported by favorable weather conditions.

“The agricultural sector plays a vital role in Zambia’s economic transformation and job creation, as outlined in the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP),” she said.

She explained that the 8NDP targets 10 percent annual growth in agriculture and seeks to raise agricultural exports from US$756.2 million in 2021 to over US$2 billion by 2026.

These goals, Mulyata noted, would be pursued through the Comprehensive Agricultural Transformation Support Programme (CATSP), which aims to achieve by 2027 10 million metric tonnes annual national maize output, 1 million metric tonnes of soybean output, and 1 million metric tonnes of wheat output.

The Minister also linked the strong response by farmers to FRA maize supply to the FISP bonding policy, which required all beneficiaries to deliver at least 10 bags of Grade A white maize to the FRA.

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