NURTURE FOOD SECURITY

THAT Zambia’s maize harvest will peak over three million tonnes this marketing season will guarantee national food security and perhaps stimulate export of the grain through the trade agreement signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Small holder farmers will contribute more than 80 percent of the output while the rest will come from commercial growers. It is hoped, therefore, that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) will be expeditious in buying and paying for the grain for strategic reserves. As President Edgar Lungu indicated on Wednesday, the FRA will buy more than one million tonnes of maize from the small holder farmers to guarantee food security. This means that the Grain Traders Association of Zambia (GTAZ) and the millers will weigh in to mop up the rest of the grain from the open market. Thus Zambia is food secure considering that the total maize requirement is 1.9 million tonnes out of which 1.6 million is for human consumption while 409, 018 is for industrial use. The country’s population is about 17.6 million people. For ease of understanding, it will be ideal to examine the maize production levels in the last two seasons. During the 2018-19 season Zambia recorded a harvest of 2, 004, 389 tonnes, a drop from the 2, 394, 907 harvested in the 2017-18 season. This shows a reduction in output chiefly because of the drought and infestation of the crop by the fall armyworm. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Agriculture Organisation separately projected an above-average production level of three million tonnes for this marketing season, translating into a rise by about 800, 000 tonnes. The FAO yield brief indicates that the harvest this season could have been better had it not been for the fall armyworm infestation which affected 15 percent in Southern and Central provinces. Secondly, some parts of the country experienced heavy floods that washed away the crops. However, the Zambia National Farmers Union pioneered early maize planting in September last year which has contributed to a better harvest. That said, there will be need for a well-coordinated approach in the maize marketing system to ensure all the grain is mopped up while farmers should be paid without any inordinate delays. The depressing scenario in the previous season of farmers spending nights in the cold while waiting for the money must never happen again. Small holder farmers toil to produce the bulk of the maize for the country and should not be subjected to inhuman treatment. It is demotivating to the farmers to line-up for days at the banks without getting their dues; they end up spending more money on upkeep as they wait for their cash. The Ministry of Finance must work steadfastly to remit their required money so that farmers could get their dues and start preparing for the 2020-21 farming season. On the other hand, Government should take a leap in exporting the maize to DRC through the agreement signed in October last year. Surely, the export deal to haul 600, 000 tonnes of maize to the neighbouring DRC should be consolidated. Once the commercial deal is operationalised, smuggling will be placated once and for all as trade will be on a Government-to-Government basis to get the maize into Katanga province of DRC. Greedy dealers will automatically be eliminated in the process. There has been rampant smuggling of maize into the neighbouring country, which invariably triggers a shortage and ultimately price hikes. This must come to an end!