Government Secures K5 Billion For Farmer Payments

The government through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), has successfully secured K5 billion from local banks to fast-track farmer payments, demonstrating its commitment to agricultural support. Agriculture Minister Reuben Mtolo announced this important development in a ministerial statement to the National Assembly on Tuesday.

 K2 billion kwacha has since been released by ZANACO to help pay farmers who supplied maize to the FRA during the 2025 marketing season which commenced on June 30, 2025.

 Minister Mtolo emphasised the government’s dedication to resolving payment challenges, stating “these efforts will enable government to resolve the outstanding payments to farmers.” This is significant given the FRA currently owes farmers 9.3 billion kwacha. The Minister also disclosed that the total budget for the 2025 maize purchasing exercise stands at 11.3 billion kwacha.

 As of October 2025, the FRA has purchased 1.6 million metric tonnes of maize from over 846,000 farmers across the country. Moreover 700,000 metric tonnes of storage space have been hired, supplementing the FRA’s existing storage capacity of 1.8 million metric tonnes.

 Through these measures, the government continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting farmers and maintaining national food security.