Musika and GTAZ partnership to improve grain trading
Musika is supporting the Grain Traders Association of Zambia (GTAZ) to reach out to the small trader sector with business advice, market linkages, and access to finance. One small trader member benefiting from such services is Moses Chikalala who is a life blood for many farmers in Mumbwa and Itezhi Tezhi regions.
Chikalala has been providing a guaranteed market for soya beans and maize to farmers since 2006 and in 2012 he decided to join GTAZ and received commodity trading and general business training.
This has allowed him to increase his business and even go an extra mile by providing added services such as transport, free
empty bags and soft loans of up to K15,000 cash or input equivalent at 50% interest which is payable in the form of grain or cash during the marketing season.
One of Chikalala’s suppliers is Shephered Mumpele of Kayamboma village in Mumbwa district whose dealings with other maize buyers barely sustained him and his family through the hunger season due to late payments, and his maize crop brought little profit.
Throughout his life, Mumpele had been told that traders were unscrupulous.
“I was really worried about taking my grain to Chikalala but when my grain was ready, I just phoned him and immediately the transport came and just after weighing I was paid cash. I also got a soft loan to finance the crop for the next season,” he said.
The added benefits of free empty grain bags and provision of transport by Chikalala helped to instill trust and confidence in the new market. The advantage of getting on-the-spot cash has enabled farmers like Mumpele to plan in advance for the following farming season, and reduced the debt burden associated with supplying maize to unreliable markets.
“Being part of Chikalala market has changed my family’s life. We see a brighter future ahead and we look forward to being wealthy, having economic security, and being able to keep our children in school,” he smiled.