The Food Reserve Agency – FRA has confirmed that the exercise of speeding up the collection of maize by engagementment of the Zambia Army initiated by the Southern Province Minister has now been extended to all the ten (10) provinces of Zambia.
FRA has since assured the nation that no maize will go to waste this year. FRA disclosed that the exercise of moving maize from the satellite depots to main holding depots is still in progress in all the ten provinces of Zambia.
FRA Public Relations Officer John Chipandwe said the exercise is being carried out countrywide to make sure the maize is moved from the satellite depots in the bush to the main holding depots for long-term storage.
Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chipandwe said the Army is simply moving maize from the furthest remote part into the main holding depots, which is, crop securing maize from being soaked countrywide.
Last month Southern Province Minister Cornelius Mweetwa initiated and flagged off maize transportation supported by the Zambia Army from satellite depots to main holding depots in Choma,mand explained that collection and transportation of maize from satellite depots was to be done by the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), Defence Forces, Food Reserve Agency (FRA) and Southern Province Administration.
Mweetwa said this was in response to Vice President Mutale Nalumango’s directive to the provincial administration to quicken collection of the maize grain from depots in the province in order to secure the grain and prevent it from being damaged by rains.
