To make maize more affordable and available to vulnerable households struggling with the biting food stress, the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has announced the commencement of sales of smaller packaged maize grain.
The smaller grain bags have been introduced as part of the ongoing community maize sales targeting the country’s 84 drought-stricken districts.
FRA Public Relations Coordinator John Chipandwe disclosed on Tuesday that this initiative is aimed at meeting the unique needs of selected vulnerable households deprived of their seasonal incomes and left marginalized by the drought.
Chipandwe said the packaging of the maize into denominated weight standards of 10 and 25-kilogram bags supplements the existing 50-kilogram bag of maize the agency is already selling.
“The agency has since commenced the packaging of maize into denominated weight standards of 25kg and 10kg bags that shall be sold at prorated prices of K165 and K66 respectively”, he said.
Chipandwe said this will ensure that targeted households have options of packages to select from when considering buying the staple crop for their household food requirements.
“It is expected that this initiative shall have a positive effect on domestic and national food security.”
Chipandwe said the initiative complements the government’s safety-net programs, such as the social cash transfer program implemented by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services.
Over 9.8 million Zambians, or 48 percent of the population, have been hit by food shortages following widespread crop failure in the last farming season. This was due to the El Nino-induced drought, described as the worst in the country’s recorded history. Zambia became independent of British rule 60 years ago this year.
Since the government declared a national food emergency in February, the FRA has been selling 50-kilogram bags of the staple food to local communities facing the risk of hunger in the worst affected communities, among several government interventions to stave hunger and starvation. Affordability has, however, been a concern.
This past weekend, Vice President Mutale Nalumango assured Zambians of food security as the government would continue to sustain lives by taking food aid to all the drought-affected districts.
In the recently presented supplementary budget, the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, has allocated K8.3 billion to drought response interventions to provide life-saving and early recovery assistance to the millions of drought-affected Zambians.
