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The Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) has raised concern over the continued non-payment of farmers who supplied maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) in June 2025, despite government assurances that funds were secured to settle the arrears.
The government has since apologised for the delayed payments, with Eastern Province Minister Peter Phiri acknowledging that timely payments are critical for farmers to adequately plan for the next farming season.
However, in a statement issued in Lusaka on Monday, PeP leader, Sean Tembo, expressed disappointment at government’s admission, calling for urgent and concrete action to resolve the matter.
Tembo said the Minister of Finance assured the nation on November 6, 2025 that the government had borrowed K5 billion from a syndicate of local commercial banks to clear all outstanding payments owed to farmers for maize supplied in 2025.
“We also have on record, a statement issued by the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Mtolo Phiri, in September 2025, that Government had purchased a total of 543,000 metric tonnes of maize in the 2025 season, at a price of K340 per 50kg bag,” Tembo said.
He argued that this translated to a total value of 543,000 x 20 x K340, amounting to approximately K3.7 billion.
Read More: Farmers’ union demands urgent govt action over delayed payments by Food Reserve Agency
Tembo further claimed that it was public knowledge that the government had announced the signing of maize export contracts with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Malawi, and had sold more than 600,000 metric tonnes of maize in the past four months.
“We also have on record, a statement issued by the Minister of Finance, on 12th November 2025, that Zambia’s Gross Foreign Reserves at Bank of Zambia, had grown to $5.2 billion,” Tembo stated.
The PeP leader said his party was seeking clarification from President Hakainde Hichilema on whether the government, indeed, borrowed K5 billion to pay farmers when the total amount owed allegedly stood at K3.7 billion, and why farmers had still not been paid.
He also called on the Ministry of Agriculture to explain why government opted to borrow funds to pay farmers when the maize supplied had reportedly been sold to DRC and Malawi on a cash basis.
“If indeed Zambia’s reserves at BOZ are standing at $5.2 billion, then why is it difficult for Government to spend $180 million (approximately 4% of reserves) to pay off the farmers, given the urgency of the matter,”Tembo said.
Tembo further questioned whether the President was aware that most farmers relied on a single annual income from maize sales, which they depend on to meet all their financial obligations and prepare for the next farming season.
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