QUESTION OF THE DAY
The public notice issued to indicate that fertilizer is being sold at D700 is not entirely the state of affairs in all parts of the country.
The dilemma being experienced in many places is the emergence of a retail market for fertiliser in the accessibility at the community level. Many middle persons purchase the fertiliser at D700 at the point of origin and transport the bags to the community where they are not accessible and sell the bags at D850 each.
This has created a problem for many poor farmers who are still without fertiliser at a time when they need the commodity.
The most efficient way to distribute seeds and fertiliser is to have one registered within every community who will serve as distributor of the commodity and be given a commission of about D10 per bag which will be charged at the expense of the National Food Security, Processing and Marketing Corporation (formerly GGC).
This would be the only way to ensure that the cost of fertilizer is D700.
