Government says it has given K6 billion to National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) to start buying maize.
This means NFRA has been given the mandate to purchase the strategic grain instead of Admarc.
National silos
NFRA’s acting Chief Executive Officer David Loga says in a statement that NFRA has now opened its market for buying of maize for the 2023/24 Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) replenishment.
“The buying price is K550 per kilogram and the procurement is on a first-come basis until the 30th September 2023 or upon reaching the targeted tonnage, whichever comes earlier,” reads the statement in part.
NFRA plans to buy 10, 822 metric tonnes of maize using the K6 billion.
The decision by government to release the funds comes amid concerns that government was delaying the exercise, thereby giving room to vendors to penetrate the market.
