@znbctoday: FRA Farmers Targeted for Payment in November By Doreen Chembe The Government has allocated K14.7 billion through the 2026 Supplementary Budget to pay farmers who supplied maize and rice to the Food Reserve Agency -FRA. Acting Agriculture Minister SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE says the Government is targeting November 2026 to settle the bulk of the outstanding payments owed to farmers. In a ministerial statement to the National Assembly, Dr. MUSOKOTWANE said the Government has so far paid K4.1 billion out of the K18.7 billion owed to farmers, leaving an outstanding balance of K14.6 billion. He said the supplementary funding would be sufficient to clear the outstanding payments for maize and rice supplied to the agency. Dr. MUSOKOTWANE also revealed that the FRA had increased its maize purchasing target from 500,000 metric tonnes to 2.7 million metric tonnes following increased deliveries by farmers across the country. He said the agency had also purchased 1,304.4 metric tonnes of paddy rice valued at K9.7 million. Dr. MUSOKOTWANE further disclosed that the FRA had secured contracts to sell 1.7 million metric tonnes of maize, comprising 1.5 million metric tonnes for export and 212,000 metric tonnes for the domestic market. He said the export programme would help improve stock turnover and generate revenue to sustain the National Strategic Food Reserve. Dr. MUSOKOTWANE assured the nation that Zambia has sufficient maize stocks to meet national requirements until the next harvest.
