CONSIDER CITIZENS FIRST IN MEALIE MEAL SHORTAGE SAGA, GOV’T URGED

GOVERNMENT needs to make tough decisions prioritising its citizens in the case of mealie meal shortage before attending to the export market demands, a think tank has said.

According to the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) Executive Director, Isaac Mwaipopo, Government should prioritise meeting mealie meal domestic consumption requirements before attending to the export market demands.

Mr Mwaipopo said with the strategic reserves now estimated to be around 300, 000 metric tonnes, it would be critical that local consumption needs were prioritised as the country waited for the 2023/2024 harvest and marketing season. “Balancing economic benefit and citizen needs is a delicate balancing act that requires government to make tough decisions. In this case, the government must prioritise the needs of its citizens while also exploring ways of increasing the country's self-sufficiency in food production,” Mr Mwaipopo said in a statement yesterday.

Mr Mwaipopo indicated that the current shortage of mealie meal was a wakeup call for the Ministry of Agriculture and government to formulate policies that would avert the country sliding into food insecurity. CTPD, he said, observed with interest the widespread anxiety among many citizens following the shortage of the commodity in several towns, especially border towns. Mr Mwaipopo advised Government to consider taking proactive measures to deal with the current situation which threatened food security.

He stated that while the recent decision to import mealie meal may provide some relief in the short term, CTPD was of the considered view that this policy decision should not be in effect for a long time.

He explained that CTPD was of the considered view that this policy decision should not be in effect for a long time as it may hurt the growth of local production and manufacturing sector.

“CTPD advises Government to take proactive steps that can lead to increasing on the countries production figures,” Mr Mwaipopo said.

He also stressed the need for timely distribution of farming inputs for the 2023/2024 production season to avoid the mistakes made in the last two seasons.