Cheap maize cannot pay school fees – Chithyola

Leader of Opposition Simplex Chithyola Banda has warned that low maize prices cannot help farmers meet household needs if the cost of fertiliser and other farm inputs remains high.

Chithyola made the remarks on Friday during Parliament’s sine die proceedings, where he acknowledged that maize was selling at a low price but argued that farmers should also benefit from cheaper inputs.

He said the imbalance between low maize prices and expensive agricultural inputs was leaving farmers with little income to meet essential needs, including paying school fees and buying medicine.

“If maize is cheap, fertiliser and other farm inputs should also be cheap,” said Chithyola.

The opposition leader said farmers could not be expected to benefit from maize production when the money they receive from selling their crops is quickly consumed by the cost of producing them.

He said government should therefore ensure that the prices of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs reflect the low returns farmers are getting from maize.

Chithyola argued that reducing input costs would give farmers better returns and enable them to use proceeds from maize sales to support their families.

He said the measure would be particularly important for farming households that rely on maize income to pay for education, healthcare and other basic necessities.