The Zambia National Farmers’ Union – ZNFU says it is disappointed that soyabeans will not be part of the FRA strategic reserves this marketing season when farmers in far flung areas have embraced crop diversification and the season promises a record crop of soyabeans.
ZNFU President Jervis Zimba has however urged government to allow regulated exports of soyabeans immediately if the prices are to be salvaged.
Government has shown no interest in soyabeans in this year’s crop marketing season stating that there is still enough of the commodity in stock.
In a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times –ZBT, Zimba said the union would like to see a situation where all the soyabeans value chain players are sustained in business and not short-changing the farmer. What good will it be to abandon soyabeans farmers at crop marketing, having oriented them to growing soyabeans as an alternative crop which is also good for the soils in crop rotation?
Zimba said the idea of assuming that there is enough crushing capacity for all the beans should be interrogated with historical facts of dynamics of this value chain because in practice this is not tenable. We invite Government to a constructive consultative meeting on the soyabeans value chain so that together we can agree on pragmatic solutions.
It is a fact South Africa has a huge soyabeans crop implying that the demand in the region for value added products will be subdued. This suggests we should also look at exports of the beans itself if the prices are to be salvaged. The fact that our soyabeans is non-GMO will give Zambia an edge in niche markets which traditionally pay premiums on non-GMO commodities.
Zimba said another key factor to bear in mind is that the crop marketing window is relatively short and as such, we urge government to make timely decisions on exports and send right policy signals to players in the market.
He reiterated that the Union remains confident that the signal set on maize pricing by FRA, will be sustained and reverse the production curve that has been on steady decrease in the last three years. We are encouraged and believe that it is feasible to realize the dream of being a breadbasket of the region.
Zambian soyabeans Farmers have cried foul on the drastic fall of the prices of soybeans on the market.
Some private buyers of the crop in some parts of the country are offering between K5 per kilogram while in other areas buyers are offering as low as k3 per kilogram against last season’s k11 per kg.
A check by the Zambian Business Times in some parts of central Province, established that some private buyers were offering k5 per kg translating into K250 for a 50kg bag of soya grain and k5, 000 per ton.
