By Brighton Thengoliweta Chimsinde

Mchinji, April 6, Mana: Mchinji District Council Chairperson, Dorothy Musa, has applauded the minimum farm gate prices for strategic crops for the 2023/2024 farming season government has released.

Musa said the price would help deter unscrupulous vendors from buying farmers' produce at lower prices in the district.

“We applaud government for the minimum farm gate prices and for its timely release because unscrupulous vendors have already started swindling local farmers. It is sad that vendors buy farm produce at lower prices using fake weighing scales,” Musa said.

She warned vendors that the Council is set to guard against their malpractices.

She said Council officers and relevant partners are on the ground to guard against vendors using uncertified weighing scales.

“Our intention is to ensure that local farmers, especially small scale farmers, benefit from this year’s farm gate prices,” she said.

In a separate interview one local farmer, Alumackio Kalonga, of Robert 4 Village, Traditional Authority (TA) Zulu thanked government for revising the farm gate prices.  

“Last year’s farming season maize was at K500 per kilogramme and this year it is set at K650, while shelled groundnuts and pure beans are at K1,200 up from K950 and K700 per kilogramme, the price set in 2022-203 farming season. You can see that with three bags of groundnuts of 50 kilogrammes each I can afford to buy bags of fertilizer,” said Kalonga.

According to the ministry’s announcement, it is an offense to buy farm produce below farm gate prices and anyone being found will face the law.