THE National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) has announced its strategic plan to establish warehouses with grain storage capacity of between 700,000 and 1,000,000 tonnes by June 2025.

NFRA Director General Dr Andrew Komba said here yesterday that the agency has shifted its focus from merely storing grains for domestic use to selling in both local and international markets.  

“The storage capacity as of June 2024 stood at 400,000 tonnes. We are now working to meet the set target,” Dr Komba said, noting that the plan implementation was on track.

According to Dr Komba, the plan was driven by growing demand for grains particularly in neighboring countries. 

“This year we entered into contracts with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to sell a total of 1,150,000 tonnes of grain,” he said, adding that the agency has also signed a contract with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Dr Komba said that the high demand for food has compelled the agency to expand and meet the growing demand.

“This is a significant opportunity for us and it will help our farmers and traders increase their incomes and boost our country's economy through foreign exchange earnings,” he explained.

He said NFRA decided to engage in the business after being satisfied that there was adequate grain reserve for national food security and the surplus for selling to neighbouring countries.

 “We are also planning to purchase 600,000 tonnes of grains from farmers as part of our storage programme. We are committed to meeting the expectations of farmers and transform their lives,” he said.