“Charity begins at Home”. This is the reaction by Grain South Africa (Grain SA) to reports that the South African government has paid food relief money to Zambia to buy surplus maize for Zimbabwe. Bully Botma, the chairperson of Grain SA, says that the money should have been spent on the more than two million tons surplus in South African silos. Botma was speaking at the annual congress of Free State Agriculture in Bloemfontein. He says it is no secret that local maize farmers cannot make ends meet. He says if the government is going to buy maize to give as food aid, it should be South African grain. “It is tax payers money, it’s South African taxpayers money. It is sourced in South Africa and we want them to buy in South Africa as well,” he said. Botma says while organised agriculture fully supports the government’s Food Aid programme, Grain SA wants donor contracts changed to stipulate that maize bought by South Africa should be bought in South Africa.

Source: WWW.ZwNews.Com