Maravi

A good harvest is not good enough unless...

A good harvest is not good enough unless...
By Editor
Friday March 16, 2007 [02:00]

Indications by the World Food Programme (WFP) that Zambia is likely to have a good harvest this year should offer us some relief. The indications offer some relief because we know the toll that poor harvests in previous years have had on the population in terms of food security. According to the WFP, although Zambia in particular and the southern African region in general experienced some erratic weather pattern this farming season, it is one of the few countries, including Malawi and Mozambique which are likely to register some good harvest this year.

The WFP tells us that despite erratic water, Malawi is expected to yield a bumper harvest again this year, while Zambia and northern Mozambique are also likely to produce favourable harvests that will even present buying opportunities for the UN food agency.

While we may be tempted to celebrate these positive indicators since harvest time is approaching, there is a warning on the other hand that the southern African region could be headed for another year of critical food shortage. Whereas the critical shortage of food may not very much affect Zambia very hard this year, it is important for us to focus our attention on a few areas of concern in terms of food security, whether or not we will record a bumper harvest.

Assuming that the indications by WFP are accurate and they will translate into reality when the harvest period is over, it may as well be the right time for us to take stock of what has happened in the past in terms of ensuring that food reaches all those in need, including putting in place measures that will ensure that those who want to get some cash out of their crops have the opportunity to do so in a manner that is beneficial to them.

We are raising all these concerns because there is a trend, which in fact has become perennial for some areas of the country, where even though the country generally records good harvests to a point where we can even export some of the harvest, several other Zambians will be appealing for relief food. And nobody should blame those Zambians who are perennially faced with food shortages and are always asking for relief food.

We are saying this because we are aware that not all of Zambia’s regions receive adequate amounts of rainfall while other natural factors also affect crop yields in some parts of Zambia. If that is the case, then it behooves those in government that food is somehow distributed in a manner that does not disadvantage other people.

We also have to start looking at whether we should be rushing to export our staple food, which is maize, before we adequately stock up our reserves. We are saying this because experience has shown us that there are times when natural factors affect crop yield to a point where there is generally hunger everywhere in the country and we are forced to either start importing or ask for help from overseas.

Most of us remember the period 2002/2003 and how so bad the situation was that even outsiders like the United States had the liberty to insist that the only food available for relief then was genetically modified maize. Of course, thanks to the government’s decision at that time, we never got to eat the artificially produced maize, neither did any Zambian die from hunger.

However, the important lesson to draw from such past experiences is that it is time we started taking advantage of some of the good farming seasons to start stocking up our reserves for future eventualities.

We know today how some populous nations such as India are proud of the fact that they always have food reserves in excess. It is because of India’s forward planning that our good brothers and sisters were able to offer us some bags of rice in the same 2002/2003 hunger period that we went through as a nation.

Stories are also told in the Bible of how the Egyptians planned and stocked grain to cover a period of seven years of drought to an extent where they were able to feed populations from neighbouring countries. Therefore, instead of rushing to export our annual surpluses, we should start looking at ways of stocking up those excesses and reserve them for eventualities.

Of course, we are mindful that we also have commercial farmers who need to make returns on their huge investments into farming. We are not saying that they should be denied the opportunity to earn some income from their produce. Even for peasant farmers, we know that most of them rely on farming activities to earn a living. Nobody should deny farmers the opportunity to realise some income from their farming activities.

What we are saying is that the government should somehow find a way of making sure that some maize is stocked up in our reserves just for the sake of those years may not be as good as others. Besides, what does food security mean if we do not have reserves that can save us in times of drought? Instead of leaving our silos yawning or as havens for rodents, we think that it is time they were all filled with food because that is their original purpose.

In the same vein, we also hope that the government has this year provided adequate resources to ensure that those farmers who want to sell their produce will have a ready market. Further, we hope that the Food Reserve Agency will this year make sure that farmers are paid their dues in good time so that the delays we saw last year do not affect their farming activities.

As we keep looking forward to witnessing a good harvest in the next few weeks, we think that these are some of the concerns that require attention. A good harvest will not be good enough if some of these concerns are not addressed.

Labels: EDITORIAL, FOOD, WFP

posted by MrK @ 4:26 AM