Maravi

Zambia to record low maize yield

Zambia to record low maize yield
Written by Joan Chirwa and Nchima Nchito
Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:24:27 AM

ZAMBIA is set to record a substantial decline in maize production next year if proper mechanisms are not put in place to save the agriculture sector from collapsing, the farmers union has warned.

And an agricultural expert Gerrit Struyf has said maize production will only structurally improve if the basic profitability of the crop’s production is based on functioning markets, access to credit at affordable rates and efficient input supply systems.

The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has said it is extremely worried with the country’s food situation, predicting that it may get worse sometime next year if the government fails to put in place measures that would motivate farmers to grow enough food crops.

“Maize production will extremely be very low if nothing is done. I still insist that subsidising maize production across the board can assist in maintaining sustainable production levels in this country,” said Jervis Zimba, president of the ZNFU.

“We need serious government intervention. Production needs to be enhanced because not all the maize produced in Zambia is for food, some of it is used on stock feed production and brewing of local beer like Chibuku.

Therefore, ZNFU is extremely worried about the future of agriculture in terms of maize production if government does not consider the issue of subsidies. We expect the government to make a decision on this matter in the next 10 days.”

Zimba, during a meeting with newly-appointed finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, did not support the importation of maize into the country to cushion skyrocketing prices of mealie-meal, but called for increased subsidies to farmers across the country to improve production.

“Importing maize is not a solution. In fact, we won’t manage to do so because where we want to get the maize, South Africa, it has very little of non-genetically modified (GMO) maize, most of it is GMO maize,” said Zimba. “Now with the high prices of fertiliser in Zambia, farmers are very hesitant to grow maize. Even if prices of fertilizer have come down on the international market, the stock we have in Zambia was bought at very high prices since the beginning of this year.

At the current prices, a 50 kilogramme bag of fertiliser can cost around K70,000 in Zambia once imported. However, if we order the commodity at the current prices, the stock can only arrive in the country after three months, which will be at the end of the farming season. That is why subsidies will do.”

Zambia this year produced around 1.1 million metric tonnes of maize, a slight reduction from the previous year’s production levels of about 1.3 million metric tonnes.

The country’s yield per hectare has been declining over the years to the current level of around 1.3 metric tonnes, although experts have indicated that the potential of Zambia’s seed could give yields as high as six tonnes per hectare.

Over half of the total maize production is cultivated by the small-scale farmers who constitute the largest component of Zambia’s agriculture sector.

However, of the over a million small-scale farmers in the country, only about 200,000 are set to benefit from the government subsidized inputs, leaving the rest to finance their own crop production at costs of around K250,000 per 50 kilogramme bag of fertiliser.

And Struyf said providing higher subsidies to farmers could increase production, but noted that it was not the long-term solution to Zambia's maize production.

“We also need to recognise that Zambian maize consumption has gone up significantly over the last five years as a substantial number of Zambians are now becoming middle class citizens who consume more chicken, meat, eggs and milk.

All these products require substantial quantities of maize to be produced,” Struyf said. “Milling companies should also become more innovative and use for example cassava to replace maize in poultry feeds. Tiger Animal Feeds is now buying cassava chips for use in poultry feeds for K45,000 per 50 kilogramme bag.

Cassava is a crop which can be produced cheaply by many Zambian farmers; this is another manner to reduce maize imports in the country.”

According to the ZNFU marketing information, the maize buying prices for the milling companies is around kwacha 1,450 per kilogramme in Lusaka (US $ 320 per tonne). However, there is very little maize left with the farmers now, hence the need to import.

Maize imported from South Africa will cost around US $ 175 per tonne. Adding up transport and handling costs of around US $ 200 per tonne, the cost price of maize will come to US $ 375 per tonne which is 17 per cent higher than the locally produced maize at US $320 per tonne.

And the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has announced that it will start offloading 30,000 metric tonnes of maize per month to offset the current shortage of the commodity that has resulted in higher mealie-meal prices.

Milling companies has since been allowed to import extra maize, although some economists believe there was no need for millers to import the commodity, arguing that the country had enough stock to satisfy their demand.

“Now that millers have been allowed to import maize, the mealie-meal price might not go up much. However, if the kwacha depreciates further against the dollar, which is not unlikely given the reduced world market copper prices, the mealie meal price could well go up further,” said Struyf.

Mealie-meal prices have been increasing steadily to as high as K70,000 per 25 kilogramme bag of breakfast in some places.

Milling companies said the shortage of maize on the market had necessitated an increase in mealie meal prices, although they argued that prices of the commodity are not supposed to go beyond K55,000 for breakfast, a move not supported by the Zambia Competition Commission (ZCC) which indicated that the millers were not allowed by law to set recommended prices.

ZCC executive director Thula Kaira has since accused the milling companies of forming a cartel to increase mealie meal prices in the country.

Kaira said the millers association of Zambia (MAZ) must share the blame for the current shortage of maize that has hit the country.

“The millers are trying to operate as a cartel under the umbrella of MAZ” said Kaira.
In view of the escalating food prices, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said Zambia needs to enhance the productivity and production of its agricultural sector in safeguard against future price shocks and ensure the country’s food security.

In May this year, late president Levy Mwanawasa established an Inter-Ministerial Committee to deal with food, fertiliser and fuel prices, on which FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) serve. The committee works to monitor the situation of rising food prices; examine factors related to the situation; develop an action plan that will ensure sustainable food production in the short, medium and long term; and implement irrigation development.

FAO already has an Emergency Coordination Unit in Zambia working on a programme to increase resilience of the country’s agriculture sector. In response to the food price crisis, a Technical Cooperation Programme project is using funding of US $500,000 to boost the agricultural productivity and production of small-scale farmers by distributing maize seed, fertiliser and legumes.

Another Technical Cooperation Project worth US $372,000 is targeting various countries in the Southern African Sub region including Zambia.

The project concentrates on monitoring and coordination issues, ensuring distribution activities are performed effectively, with high quality inputs directed to those most in need.

Labels: FOOD, GERRIT STRUYF, HUNGER, JERVIS ZIMBA, MAIZE

posted by MrK @ 11:26 AM