In early July, the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), the Government parastatal mandated to manage the national strategic stock and engage in market facilitation, increased the purchasing price of maize by nearly 50 percent, from ZMW 75 (USD 5.93) last year to ZMW 110 (USD 8.69) per bag of 50 kg with immediate effect and until 31 October 2019. The adjustment was made to better reflect increased production costs, as prices of inputs increased following the depreciation of the country’s currency, and higher market prices. New prices were also set for soybeans and rice. The FRA has targeted the procurement of 300 000 tonnes of maize, 4 000 tonnes of soybeans and 1 000 tonnes of rice