Zambian farmers advise Food Reserve Agency against setting unviable prices for maize, as sales season kicks off

The Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has called on the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to urgently announce a cost-reflective maize floor price for the 2025 marketing season.

ZNFU president, Jervis Zimba, warned that setting unviable prices would demotivate farmers and pose a threat to national food security.

“As we begin the marketing season, the Union wishes to remind stakeholders of the importance of maintaining favourable farm gate prices,” Zimba said in a statement issued Thursday in Lusaka.

Zimba said: “This is essential not only to encourage continued investment in grain production but also to safeguard national food security.”

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He advised farmers to avoid rushing to sell their maize, urging them to wait for fair market prices.

Zimba also called on the government to sustain a stable policy environment that promotes sustainable producer prices and supports regulated maize exports to help balance local market conditions.

“A pricing model that disregards the cost of production and farmers’ profitability will inevitably discourage maize cultivation and frustrate national production targets,” he cautioned.

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