By KENNEDY MUPESENI –
THE Zambia Land Alliance (ZLA) has urged councils across the country to take advantage of the increasing maize demand by engaging in its production whose proceeds will fund various activities.
The organisation has observed that maize was now a cash crop due to increasing demand which was causing prices of the commodity to continue sky rocketing.
ZLA vice board chairperson Gerald Mutelo said in an interview that the country should take advantage of the prevailing climatic conditions and the rising maize prices to produce more.
“Let the councils especially rural ones establish maize farms which can enable them realise the much-needed revenue to run various activities.
“There is no need for maize export restrictions but to go flat-out and increase maize production, flood the local market and export the surplus to earn more foreign exchange which could help stabilise the local currency,” Mr Mutelo said.
He said local councils, no matter how small, could raise capital injection using council properties as collateral to obtain loans from the commercial market which could be repaid in six months period.
Mr Mutelo who is also Democratic Governance and Human Rights Advocacy (DEGHA) president added that the country should pursue home grown recovery plan by establishing state farms whose business recovery was short.
