Livingstone, June 21, 2019, ZANIS——–The Food Reserve Agency (FRA), has bemoaned the slow pace at which Livingstone residents are purchasing subsidized maize meant to enhance food security in the district.

FRA Marketing Assistant for Livingstone and Kazungula District, Evans Kanina said out of 30 metric tons which was equivalent to 600 by 50 kilogramme bags of maize received by the Agency, only 53 were sold by June 12, 2019.

Speaking during a District Disaster Management Committee Meeting in Livingstone on Thursday, Mr Kanina explained that the Agency received the maize as part of efforts to avert hunger in the district following massive crop failure in the 2018/2019 farming season.

He said the maize was being sold at K111 per 50 kilogramme bag and urged Livingstone residents to take advantage of the offer.

And Acting Livingstone District Commissioner Harriet Kawina said the offer was open to all residents provided they met minimum requirements such as being in possession of a National Registration Card (NRC).

Ms Kawina however, explained that individuals could only make one purchase in a month and this condition was put in place to ensure as many residents as possible, benefited.

Meanwhile, the Livingstone City Council has written to the city’s 17 ward councillors, requesting them to inform people in their wards about the availability of cheap maize in the district.

The maize being sold by the FRA is a separate exercise from the distribution of relief food being spearheaded by the Disaster Management and Mitigating Unit (DMMU).