Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Zambia introduces new local wheat seed varieties
Wheat consumption in Zambia is expected to increase 20% although output is projected to reduce marginally in the next two years, says the country’s agriculture ministry. It said this outlook was a result of climate change, which was prompting the country to introduce new varieties of seeds to plug the deficit.
According to the ministry, consumption of the commodity was expected to rise to 179 000t in 2026, up from 164 000t three years ago.
The increase represents an average growth rate of 1,4% year-on-year since 2017. Production of wheat in Zambia is forecast to decline 15% to about 131 000t in 2026, down from 142 000t in 2021, said the ministry. This represents a year-on-year average rate of decline of 1,4% since 1966.
Zambia’s Minister of Agriculture Reuben Mtolo plans to increase production of dryland wheat and contain potential deficits through the introduction of two local seed varieties to add one million tons by 2027 to help reduce imports of the commodity.
Launching the dryland wheat multiplication programme under the Zambia National Service in Lusaka, Mtolo named the seeds ‘Mpheta’ and ‘Tyetye’. These seed varieties have been selected to be planted and harvested by the close of 2027, and this is projected to achieve a minimum output of about 3,3 million tons a year.
The programme, being run in collaboration with the Zambia Research Institute, is a milestone for bolstering wheat production in the country and ensuring the sector remains competitive.
“The introduction of these two varieties within the agriculture sector will ultimately contribute to the desired transformation of the wheat value chain and the actualisation of the government’s resolve of increasing wheat production to one million tons per annum in the next three years,” said Mtolo.
In collaboration with the German Development Agency, Zambia expects to produce 20 000t of certified wheat seed to be distributed to various smallholder farmers over a three-year period.
The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) said that the country remained self-reliant in terms of wheat output, with enough to avert imports to meet any deficit.
ZNFU wheat chairperson Blair McLeod said that at 420 000t of wheat harvested in recent years, the country was secure with the commodity.