LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Diversify staple foods
By Chris Shanda, Lusaka
Mon 27 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
I write to agree with the Zambian Vision Foundation President, Chilufya Luchembe that as a nation, we should diversify our staple foods to include others such as rice, sorghum and cassava.
In fact, these foods are already being consumed in many regions of Zambia. The exclusive consumption of nshima is only done because many Zambians feel that eating sorghum or cassava would lower their standing in society.
With regard to rice, many Zambians consider it alien and not befitting full-meal status, yet we have plenty of rice being grown in Western, Luapula and Northern provinces of Zambia.
Other foods such as Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes are also grown in abundance such that the change in eating patterns and adoption of these foods in our daily diets would reduce the demand on maize to a point where it would not be necessary to buy a whole 25kg bag of mealie-meal just to ensure household food security when rice, cassava, sorghum, potatoes and even bread can take the place of maize.
Our major problem also is lack of diverse cuisine.
Labels: MAIZE, POTATOES, SORGHUM
Read more...
Over 390 000ha of small grains planted
Tuesday, 25 January 2011 22:37
Agriculture
Herald Reporter
Farmers countrywide have so far put 392 207 hectares of land under small grains with the figure expected to rise as planting continues. The hectarage is still less than last year’s 403 655ha.
This summer season’s total hectarage could be less than the 2010 figure because good rains received thus far mean fewer people will opt for the drought-resistant small grains and instead plant maize.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made last week said, “Small grain farmers tend to shift their focus to maize when the rains are good.”
Despite Government efforts in recent years to promote production of small grains, many farmers still prefer maize.
The hectarage of soya beans last year was 48 010 and has fallen to 34 017ha this year.
A total 30 715ha of sugar beans were planted in 2010 and this season the hectarage is still at 18 697.
Minister Made said: “The crop condition is good for all cereals in the country.”
Small grains are a key component of national food security and pro-vide greater nutritional value than maize.
Labels: JOSEPH MADE, MAIZE, SORGHUM
Read more...
COMMENT - This is excellent, and what development should be about. A lot of money can be made honestly, by linking small scale farmers into sales channels that benefit them. See also the
Swedish Cooperative Centre page.
Sorghum cheer for farmers
Agriculture Reporter
Tuesday, 12 October 2010 13:17 Agriculture
Small-scale sorghum farmers in Chiredzi have demonstrated that besides boosting food security, sorghum can take care of their socio-economic needs when they delivered 30 tonnes of the grain to Delta Beverages, earning themselves US$6 527.
The farmers shared the money according to the tonnage each had delivered with the highest earner, Mr Phahlela Tsamwisi of Vhukani Village, pocketing US$1 680.
“I am happy that
we have finally found a reliable buyer in Delta Beverages after years of being ripped off by unscrupulous middlemen who always purport to be advancing our cause yet they are the ones who benefit more from our toil,� Mr Tsamwisi said.
He paid tribute to the non-governmental organisation Swedish Co-operative Centre for linking them with Delta and making arrangements for transportation of produce to Harare.
After handing over the money to the farmers, SCC programmes manager for Chiredzi, Ms Wendy Mangwende, said they intervened to help improve livelihoods.
The money was first deposited into SCC’s bank account as the majority of farmers have no accounts.
“We subsequently helped the farmers to establish the 50-member Dhumela Farmers Club to which the 18 who sold their grain to Delta belong.
“Under the programme, dubbed ‘Assisting Farmers to Fight Poverty’, we will help them explore more new markets both locally and regionally.
“We are currently exploring the Botswana markets for red sorghum,� she said.
She said farmers used to barter produce for different products, making it difficult for them to meet other obligations such as paying school fees for their children.
SCC country co-ordinator Mr Jonathan Kagoro added: “The starting point is that farmers need to find a reliable market and this is what we are doing to assist them.
“We now want them to diversify into small livestock units, for instance goats, whose auctioning has already started in Mwenezi.�
Agricultural consultant Mr Marcus Hakutangwi said farmers should form study groups to exchange vital farming information on crop agronomy, animal husbandry and marketing.
Chiredzi falls under natural region five where average annual rainfall barely goes above 500 mm.
The region is not suitable for crops such as maize but is good for small grain crops like sorghum.
For the 2010/11 agricultural season, Dhumela Farmers Club members intend to produce more than 60 tonnes of white sorghum and also try red sorghum for Chibuku Breweries.
Labels: DHUMELA FARMERS CLUB, SORGHUM, SWEDISH COOPERATIVE CENTRE
Read more...
‘Promote small grains’
By Vimbai Komani
AS she looks at her maize crop on the piece of land allocated to her as a new A1 farmer in Chegutu, Cde Flora Buka cannot hide the despair on her face.
Though looking well-tended and green, the Minister of State for Lands and Resettlement cannot help but think about the state of the crop in other parts of the country owing to erratic rains and the general shortages of fertilizer.
The crop on a neighbouring piece of land, which is not so green, is to a great extent a microcosm of the situation that is unfolding in many fields across the country, especially in Mashonaland West Province, an area that traditionally has a good maize output.
"If this is the situation in my home area of Gokwe, then l would advise my fellow new farmers in places like Tsungai, Chireya and Nyamhara to opt for either sorghum or millet," says Cde Buka.
"I do not think that people will harvest enough maize to sustain the whole country if the situation remains like this."
The crop situation on large swathes of arable land in parts of Mashonaland West and Harare’s environs — which sustain residents of the capital — have begun to show signs of life following the rains that have been falling for the past few weeks, but this could be a case of too little too late.
The general rainfall situation has prompted the Government, through its various arms, to step up efforts to encourage farmers in regions that have received little rains to grow drought-resistant crops such as sorghum and millet as a means of countering a potentially sub-standard maize output. These small grains are probably the best shot the country has at guaranteeing its food security, as they are drought-resistant and easier to manage than maize.
Although most families prefer growing the staple maize, research and experience have shown that some measure of commendable success is being recorded in the cultivation of small grains.
In the Murehwa area, for example, which has historically received rains sufficient for a good maize crop and market gardening activities, ruling party House of Assembly Member Cde Simbaneuta Mudarikwa has been donating tonnes of gypsum fertilizers to the people in his constituency as a means of countering the effects of the erratic rains witnessed so far this season.
He too has been encouraging his constituents to opt for the smaller, tougher grains.
"I have been encouraging the planting of small grains which reach maturity quicker than maize and require less natural rainfall as well.
"This year the rains came a bit late and they have been very unpredictable. This makes planning for a maize crop difficult and hence drought-resistant crops are a good option to ensure food security in the constituency and the wider district," he explains.
The Department of Agricultural Research and Extension Services says the campaign to promote small grains, which started in the early 1980s, has gained significant momentum although there are still a number of bottlenecks that need to be cleared to ensure the country fully benefits from the programme, especially in years of drought.
Arex’s report for the 2009 cropping period has it that the experience accumulated by small-scale farmers with small grains over the years needs to be consolidated.
Zimbabwe’s communal farmers are not new to working with small grains, but this has traditionally been done at a small scale.
The present campaigns to increase production in this area have tapped into this experience and the challenge now is to increase the hectarages that farmers opt for.
However, a number of the challenges affecting maize production are also impacting negatively on small grain output.
Every year without fail, immense human and financial resources are directed towards the production of the staple maize, even when the rainfall situation is not predictable and it would make more sense to invest significantly in small grains.
The emphasis has always been on cash cropping and perhaps this is a problem that stems from the nature of the colonial economy.
Before independence, the emphasis was always on cash cropping with communal farmers providing the bulk of the maize that guaranteed food security.
To a large extent, the Strategic Grain Reserve was built on the efforts of small farmers who were relegated to the worst pieces of land by white commercial farmers who preferred to grow tobacco and cotton.
After independence, resources were poured into maize production as a means of ensuring food security in the event of drought because white farmers were simply not interested in growing a crop with little financial rewards.
In the ideal situation, however, the proceeds from the export of cash crops is supposed to cross-subsidise maize output through Government programmes that source fertilizers and other inputs for those farmers who produce the staple crop.
Unfortunately, this cross-subsidisation is not taking place at present for a plethora of reasons, mainly to do with the adverse economic climate precipitated by the illegal sanctions slapped on the country.
The result has been that the Government has been sourcing inputs for maize production at great cost, only for erratic rainfall patterns to scupper the maize crop.
At the same time, private companies have been more inclined to support cash crop production through contract growing schemes that emphasise tobacco and cotton production while food security has suffered. A lot of money is put into the production of these crops with little going towards small grain production.
This summer cropping season, large quantities of maize seed were made available in shops while the Government also distributed the input under the Champion Farmer Programme.
Meanwhile, few shops have been selling seed for the production of sorghum and rapoko and yet these grains can go a long way in local and national guaranteeing of food security.
The Government is at the moment distributing fertilizer through the Grain Marketing Board mainly to farmers who are into maize growing.
In recent years, Zimbabwe has imported more than 200 000 tonnes of fertilizer from China.
No commensurate investment has gone towards the production of small grains despite the poor rains the country is receiving.
"Right now, most of those who are planting small grains have to use seed from their previous harvest. If you compare with the investment in other crops, small grains have largely been neglected.
"A lot of money has gone towards research into coming up with new varieties of maize and other crops. How then do we expect improvement in the production of small grains?" asks Ms Sibongile Ndlovu, an Arex officer in Chegutu.
Regardless, Arex says they have been forging ahead in trying to improve the availability of small grains even though there has been little co-operation from the private sector.
The research has seen areas like Murehwa and Mutoko making progress in the growing of the small grains. Due to the successive droughts the country has seen in the recent past, the Government should increase the attention paid to small grains in all regions.
A commendable initiative on the part of Government has been the way it is encouraging Delta Beverages, which has a near monopoly of the drinks market, to purchase grain from small farmers.
The company has also rolled out its own contract grower schemes and hopefully this will improve production.
Perhaps, more effort should now be put into creating a mutually-beneficial relationship between farmers who grow small grains and milling companies. At present, growers even have problems taking their crop to grinding mills because the operators prefer maize.
Labels: CASSAVA, MAIZE, SORGHUM
Read more...
COMMENT - How about Sorghum? It is already widely grown, drought resistant and can also replace maize as cattle feed. There is a book called "Lost Crops Of Africa volume 1" which is basically all about Sorghum.
‘Cassava vital for food security’
By JERRY MUNTHALI
GOVERNMENT says cassava has assumed greater importance to national food security due to the soaring world food prices, coupled with increases in the price of fertilizer.
Minister of Agriculture Brian Chituwo said this in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy Albert Mulonga during the launch of the media campaign to promote the use of cassava in Lusaka yesterday.
“Now, more than ever, cassava has assumed even greater importance due to the soaring food prices experienced the world over, coupled with steep increases in the price of fertiliser which is a must-have commodity for the production of maize, our number one staple food,” Dr Chituwo said.
He said with the frequent occurrences of drought and floods, Government had realised that national and household food security would remain highly vulnerable as long as the country remained over-dependent on maize.
Dr Chituwo said cassava was tolerant both to floods and drought.
He said the production of cassava had proved to be stable and could bring stability to national and household food security.
Dr Chituwo said cassava had many attributes which gave it comparative advantage over maize because it could grow in poor soils on marginal lands where maize and other crops could not grow.
He said the media campaign was aimed at popularising and commercialising the use of cassava.
“We hope to awaken the nation to the many uses that cassava can be put to at both household and industrial levels,” Dr Chituwo said.
Food and Agriculture Organisation country representative Nourredin Mona was happy that Government was committed to realising the full potential and benefits of cassava.
Dr Mona called on Government to consider providing tax incentives to encourage private investment in the cassava sub-sector.
He said Government should develop infrastructure like roads, telecommunication and storage facilities to create a conducive environment for the development of the cassava sub-sector.
Dr Mona said Government needed to equally share subsidies among crops because, currently, it was slanted towards maize at the expense of other crops such as cassava.
Caritas Zambia programme manager for human development Katongo Chifweba said food was an important aspect of human life.
Ms Chifweba said food security played an important role in uniting the family and bringing peace to the nation.
Ends…
Labels: BRIAN CHITUWO, CASSAVA, SORGHUM
Read more...
Maize seed imports arrive
By Martin Kadzere
MAIZE seed imported from Zambia started coming in last Friday with 476 tonnes already in the country. The seed is stored at Bak Storage in Harare awaiting distribution to various Grain Marketing Board depots countrywide. Bak Storage managing director Mr Davison Ziki said daily deliveries of about 308 tonnes were expected during the next five weeks. The Herald Business news crew visited a Bak Storage depot in Willowvale industrial sites in Harare and witnessed some trucks being offloaded.
"Deliveries began last Fri-day and up to now we have received 476 tonnes of maize seed. We will be expecting daily deliveries during the next five weeks and we will be open 24 hours a day."
The seed was imported by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe from Seed Co’s Zambian subsidiary at a cost of about US$17 million to avert seed shortages during the 2007/08 farming season. Government had indicated that it needed to import an additional 15 000 tonnes to ensure sufficient maize seed to farmers. About 300 000 tonnes of sorghum seed would also be imported from Botswana. Now that the seed maize has started arriving, focus should now be turned on quick distribution, analysts have noted.
"It is good that the seed has started arriving. What is important now is to ensure that farmers get the seed on time. Rains have already started with some farmers in various parts of the country having already started tilling. So the authorities should expedite the distribution of the seed so that farmers plant on time," a Harare-based agriculture analyst said.
No comment could be obtained from Agriculture Minister Mr Rugare Gumbo by the time of going to press. GMB officials were also not immediately available for a comment. Zimbabwe needs about 50 000 tonnes of maize seed during the current season. At least 35 000 tonnes was available from local sources.
Labels: BOTSWANA, MAIZE, SORGHUM, ZAMBIA
Read more...
