Food Reserve Act, 1995

The Food Reserve Agency is established as a body corporate and may do the acts a body corporate may lawfully do, subject to the Act.

The Agency must carry out the functions needed to administer the Act, including managing the national food reserve, operating a market information system, and promoting approved weighing and grading standards.

A national food reserve must be administered by the Agency, subject to the Act.

The Minister must designate certain agricultural food commodities, including cereals, oilseeds, and stockfeed, by the yearly deadline, and must do so within 30 days for the Act’s first marketing season.

The Agency may buy or import designated commodities for the national food reserve, but it must first announce its annual purchase plan and later publish the buying procedure on a yearly timetable.

The Agency may sell designated commodities from the national food reserve for local shortages or food emergencies, but must publish the yearly sale procedure in advance.

The Agency may receive donated designated or non-designated commodities for the national food reserve, may sell non-designated commodities as designated commodities, and must buy designated commodities to keep the reserve rotated, distributed, and positioned properly.

The Agency must operate a market information system for each designated commodity market.

The Agency must collect and share marketing information about a designated commodity, including domestic and export sales.

The Agency must consult the Zambia Bureau of Standards when developing and improving standards for a designated commodity.

A person who knowingly misrepresents the grade of a designated commodity against established standards commits an offence and may be fined up to one thousand penalty units.

Traders and processors must register each year as dealers in a designated commodity, and the Agency must keep a register of traders and processors.

Traders and processors must pay annual registration fees set by the Minister by statutory instrument.

The Minister may make rules and regulations, after consulting the Agency, about conduct standards for registered traders and processcir dealing in designated commodities.

A registered trader or processor dealer in a designated commodity must give the Agency price and stock information for that commodity for the period the Agency designates, and submit a report in the prescribed form, approved by the Minister, within the time the Agency prescribes.

Traders and processors must register and, if registered, comply with standards of conduct set by the Minister; breaches are offences punishable by a fine of up to one thousand penalty units.

Before buying a designated commodity, the Agency must inspect relevant records to check for prior pledges, charges, or liens under the Agricultural Credit Act.

A registered trader or processor must not sell a designated commodity in disregard of a registered charge or lien on that commodity.

The President may declare a national food emergency if there is, in his opinion, a major shortfall in the domestic production or availability of a designated commodity.

If the President declares a national food emergency, the Minister takes over the Agency’s powers, consults the Agency on bidder selection, and the Agency becomes advisory.

The Minister may exercise the Agency’s powers under the Act until the Agency’s members are appointed.

The Minister must make a statutory instrument to transfer specified property, rights, liabilities, or obligations to the Agency, and those items vest in the Agency when the instrument takes effect.

If a transfer to the Government must be registered under another law, the Government must apply in writing for registration, and the registration officer must make the necessary register entries; no registration fees or duty are payable for such transfers.

The section keeps certain rights, liabilities, and obligations effective after commencement, and allows pending proceedings or applications to continue against or by the Government or Agency.

The Minister may, by statutory instrument and after consulting the Agency, make rules about prescribed matters, forms, fees, and different procedures for different areas.

This section repeals the National Agricultural Marketing Act.

The Agency’s seal is to be a device the Agency decides, kept by the Secretary, and its use or related documents may be authenticated or authorized by specified officials.

This section sets out who makes up the Agency, how some members are nominated, and who may not be elected Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson.

A member of the Agency serves a three-year term, may be reappointed for another three years, may resign with one month’s written notice to the nominating organisation and the Minister, and the office becomes vacant on death, certain absences, loss of representative status, or bankruptcy.

This section sets the Agency’s meeting rules, including the Chairperson’s powers, quorum, voting, and the rule that invited guests have no vote.

The Agency may create committees, appoint their members, and delegate functions to them, subject to rules on committee composition and Ministerial approval for allowances.

People at an Agency or committee meeting who have a private interest in a matter must declare it promptly and usually must not join the discussion or vote unless the Agency or committee allows it.

Members must file financial disclosure reports with the Minister, update them if their interests or liabilities change, and the Minister must make submitted reports available for public inspection.

The Agency must appoint a Director, may appoint a Secretary and other necessary staff, and the Director and Agency employees are not to be treated as public officers.

People must not publish or disclose certain information from the Act unless they have written consent from the Agency or are acting in the course of their duties.

The Agency’s funds come from appropriations, grants or donations, and money that accrues to it. The Agency may accept grants or donations, borrow money (with Ministerial approval for funds from outside Zambia), charge fees for services, and invest unused funds with Ministerial approval. Its financial year runs for 12 months ending 31 March each year.

The Agency must keep proper accounting records, include three separate account categories in those records, have its accounts audited annually by independent auditors approved by the Minister, and pay the auditors’ fees.

The Agency must send the Minister a report on its activities for the financial year within 90 days after year-end, and the Minister must table it in the National Assembly within 7 days after the first sitting following receipt.