Don’t violate farm gate prices, vendors warned

Mchinji District Council chairperson Dorothy Musa has warned vendors against buying farm produce below the government’s recommended farm gate prices. 

Her warning comes after the Ministry of Agriculture released this year’s farm gate prices for crops such as maize, beans, ground nuts and soya beans.

Speaking in an interview on Friday, Musa commended government for revising the farm gate prices for strategic crops for the 2023/24 farming season.

She said: “The prices will help to deter unscrupulous vendors from buying farmers’ produce at lower prices in the district.

“We thank the government for releasing the prices timely because vendors have already started buying the produce.”

Musa warned vendors that the council will punish those buying the produce below the recommended minimum farm gate prices.

“We want to ensure that farmers benefit from their labour,” she said.

One of the farmers, Alumackio Kalonga from Robert IV Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Zulu, thanked government for revising the farm gate prices. 

“The new prices offer hope to farmers because vendors were buying our produce at low prices. I ask fellow farmers not to sell their produce to vendors at a give-away price,” he said.

Kalonga also cautioned farmers not to sell all their produce, saying they should only sell the surplus to ensure they have food.

Another farmer James Malizani from T/A Zulu thanked the council for enforcing the farm gate prices.

“The council should also ensure that vendors are using certified weighing scales when buying grain produce such as maize, soya beans, cow peas, beans and groundnuts,” he said. 

The government last year set the farm gate price for maize at K500 per kilogramme (kg) and this year maize was set at K650 while shelled groundnuts and beans are at K1 200 up from K950 and K700 per kg respectively.