Opposition Leadership Movement Secretary General, Jairos Ngoma, has expressed concern with governments delay to pay farmers that supplied maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) during the last crop marketing season.
Yesterday, FRA announced that government has released K500 Million to pay off farmers that it owed in the 2023- 2024 farming season.
But Mr. Ngoma says the tendency by government to pay farmers after the first rains will lead to panic planting by farmers.
“It is unfortunate that some farmers also get loans for farming due to late payments and this negatively affects their finances,” said Mr. Ngoma.
He has therefore urged government to find a sustainable way of ensuring farmers are paid on time for effective planning.
Angel Kasabo