Fifty-six days into the 2026 maize buying […]

Fifty-six days into the 2026 maize buying season, some farmers taking maize to Food Reserve Agency (FRA) depots in Livingstone, Kazungula and Zimba are facing a reported cash-for-service system, with an anonymous source claiming some farmers are being asked to pay thousands of Kwacha before their grain is processed into the FRA system.

Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the source said farmers who arrive without money are being told that there are no empty bags or space, only for the situation to change when they request for money and the cash is offered.

“It has become a system where they can tell a farmer there are no sacks or space, but when someone gives them money, suddenly the maize is weighed and processed the following morning while those who did not pay remain on the line,” the source said.

 The source said a farmer delivering about 300 bags is being required to pay around K3,000 to a depot clerk to have the maize serviced, with another K3,000 reportedly demanded for labour involved in stacking the grain.

“If I am weighing about 300 bags of maize, I have to pay around K3,000 to the person so that my maize can be processed, and then I have to pay another K3,000 to the people who stack the maize,” the source said.

The claims would mean a farmer with 300 bags could spend about K6,000 in unofficial payments before accounting for transport and other legitimate costs associated with taking the crop to the depot.

However, the source also raised a separate concern over the way maize is being weighed, claiming farmers are sometimes required to put more than the standard 50 kilogrammes into bags before their grain is accepted.

“The farmer is supposed to sell a 50-kilogramme bag, but instead it can go up to 55 or 60 kilogrammes, and that means part of the farmer’s maize is effectively being taken through the weighing process,” the source said.

The source said the combination of alleged unofficial payments, shortages of empty bags and delays in purchasing is leaving farmers who follow the official process at a disadvantage.

“What is worrying us is that the farmer who does not pay is left waiting, while the farmer who pays is able to have the maize weighed and processed, and this creates an unfair system at the depots,” the source said.

 The allegations extend across Livingstone, Kazungula and Zimba, where the source said farmers are already worried about maize remaining at depots as the rainy season approaches.

Article by Phillip Sinkala