FRA Delays: Record-breaking harvest overwhelmed Zambia’s payment and marketing systems, Govt claims

State House has reaffirmed government’s commitment to ensuring the timely payment of farmers, following concerns over delays in disbursements for crops supplied to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) during the last farming season.

State House Chief Communications Specialist, Clayson Hamasaka, said the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture had confirmed the release of all funds allocated for the farmer payment programme.

In a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday, Hamasaka revealed that nationwide checks have been conducted to assess progress in paying farmers.

He noted that while payments were reaching beneficiaries, the process had been slower in some areas due to the high volume of farmers being processed by implementing institutions.

“President Hakainde Hichilema remains transparent and accountable, citing his public apology during the ZESCO load-shedding period as an example of his leadership style,” Hamasaka said.

He added that the President had shown similar openness in addressing concerns over delayed farmer payments.

Hamasaka explained that the government did not fully anticipate the overwhelming farmer response, which resulted in a record-breaking harvest despite the country recovering from a severe drought.

“This success, while commendable, placed immense pressure on the country’s payment and marketing systems,” he said.

Hamasaka said the government was now developing a more sustainable crop marketing framework to reduce dependence on the FRA.

He emphasised that the FRA’s original mandate was to manage strategic food reserves, not to operate as a large-scale crop marketing institution.

“Steps are being taken to realign the FRA with its core function, while establishing a more effective and enduring system for crop marketing,” Hamasaka said.

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