Zambia has begun exporting maize, although the government has yet to ascertain how much of the staple food has been produced during a season that was severely disrupted by widespread flooding.
There is growing concern over the government’s failure to release the scheduled official crop figures for the 2006/7 agricultural farming season, which are now more than a week overdue.
“This delay is making it difficult for us to plan ahead in terms of maintaining the prices of mealie meal in that we don’t know how much crop is out there exactly. We have been assured by the government that there’s a good crop but that’s only as far as we’ve been told,” Peter Cottan, vice president of the Millers Association of Zambia, told IRIN. “Of course, a number of millers are still hoarding some maize stocks from last year, but we still need the estimates for the new crop before we can decide on how best to maintain or adjust the prices of mealie meal.”
The recent price volatility of maize meal saw its price increase at least three times in the last quarter of 2006, with a 25kg bag selling for as much as US$11, making it unaffordable for the majority of the population.
“Most of us can’t afford a 25kg bag of mealie meal because we have no money… and there are no jobs, we are forced to buy pamelas every day. We don’t see the reason for celebrating the (past) national bumper harvests announced by the government as mealie meal prices always remain expensive,” Martha Daka, a street trader in the capital Lusaka, said.
Even without an accurate assessment of the expected harvest, the government has begun exports to neighbouring Zimbabwe, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Agriculture minister Ben Kapita told local media recently that about 700 tonnes of maize from the latest harvest had already been exported to Zimbabwe, with a further 300,000 tonnes earmarked for export to provide Zambia with foreign exchange.
“We have allowed this exportation of part of our surplus crop through our various co-operating partners purely as a way of getting more value from our crop,” Kapita said.
According to Kapita, the government’s Food Reserve Agency was expected to export 226,000 tonnes to raise money for the purchase of crops from local farmers, while the Zambia National Farmers Union, the millers association and the Grain Traders Association would export about 48,000 tonnes in total.
Kapita said the delayed release of government’s crop assessment was because “I simply haven’t got the figures as yet on my table! We released the money late for this exercise and I am very sure that the field officers would only be coming from the fields about now. We need a bit of time before they can compile the figures, but I will certainly be informing the nation as soon as they are ready.”
Zambia has over the last three years posted a surplus harvest on the back of a number of reforms introduced by the former agriculture minister Mundia Sikatana, now foreign affairs minister, which included subsidising farming inputs by 60 percent, buying off the crop from small-scale farmers and encouraging conservation farming practices.
But, although the country in 2006 posted a crop surplus of 300,000 tonnes above its annual consumption requirement of 1.2 million tonnes, analysts said the torrential rains late last year and earlier this year, which swamped thousands of fields in at least five of the nine provinces, would likely hit maize production. About 1.4 million people were affected by the flooding and about 300,000 people, mostly in the agricultural producing rural areas, required food aid.
While president Levy Mwanawasa’s administration has generally drawn praise for its agricultural reforms, farmers have alleged that the government was giving them a raw deal by fixing the maize marketing price at a non-negotiable US$9 per 50kg bag.
“We find the pricing of maize unfair in many ways, and discouraging to the farmers too,” Guy Robinson, president of the Zambia National Farmers Union said. “It costs us a lot to produce the crop but the price at which we are required to sell it does not tally with the cost of production. We are urgently calling for the establishment of an independent crop costing exercise to critically look at the cost of production for maize against the price at which we are selling the crop.”
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This story definitely makes a sad reading to go by. I can not believe that the government can start exporting maize before putting statistics right considering how badly the country was hit by floods. The truth of the matter is that the government had already signed contracts with the importing countries even before the floods were felt. The country tied itself in this way such that withdrwing from the race would be abrogating the contract which would impact on us negatively. Therefore, statistics of maize production available or not, the contractual obligation had to be met otherwise the counrty would be penalised for not fulfilling it. This is how short the story should have been. The rest of it is simply buying time and deceiving the populace.
Zambian farmers depend much on the rain of which in some cases it becomes unreliable due to prolong droughts and floods. Thus, meteorology dept (if at all does exist) must advice the govt on projected weather pattern, forinstance this year the tropical countries are likely to be hit by Elnino which is weakening trade winds and increase in sea surface temperature along the equatorial region of Peru and one of its end results is low crop yield. Therefore, the govt must not rush for money but put up silos and improve storage facilites across the country and to have a sound food security.
Sad to see the Zambian peasant farmers toiling and sweating for nothing for their farm produce at the hand of govt which is worse than Lucifer.
Figures,Figures,Figure. I believe and understand there other cash crops that these farmers can produce in areas that they are facing drought. Maize is not only the crop that farmers can grow and make a living. Ben Kapita been a farmer too apart from a foolish Minister should know that a farmer cannot rely on weather patterns. How do farmers in areas where they donot rely on the weather manage in their production.
I believe the collection of data on crops is very important to plan ahead.
What is the CSO(Central Statistical Office) doing and is the population of people only their responsibilty?
Planning needs figures and figures are collected by statisticians for policy makers to make informed decisions. So, how did govt begin exporting a commodity that every Zambian depends without statistics of how much we have. Unless there are projected figures, we are bound to have people crying for their staple food. Its really sad for a minister to say what they are doing have no statistical backing. I wish to implore on hon Kapita to get atleast projected statistics taking into account the floods that hit zed before selling out food to Neighboring countries.
The hope the minister and the whole have analysed the cost of production of maize before they came up with the price of 40 pin. I know we have alot of intellectuals in zed especially in high ranking posts in ministries. Please be fair on the small scale farmers. Farming is their only way out of poverty and holding them back wont help anyone. Maybe govt loves to hear that out of 188 poorest countries zed is no.166. Its sickening.
Please stock the excess maize in the silos,Lets not forget the effects of climatic changes. There is a drought on its way FYI
Let’s hope this is not one of the those sensational stories. Consider the following summarised report on Zambia posted on http://www.fews.net:
SOUTHERN AFRICA Food Security Outlook
March to July 2007
Zambia
SCENARIO:
Heavy rains causing localized flooding and water logging
Insignificant yield losses for late planted crops in southern Zambia
Carry over stocks in excess of 200,000 MT at the start of 2007/08 marketing season.
Private sector export ban maintained for the rest of the 2006/07 marketing season
FOOD SECURITY IMPLICATIONS:
Stable food security conditions due to good production and large carryover stocks
Markets adequately supplied and prices remain stable and low
Limited amounts of assistance will be required by flood affected households, mainly in north western and western provinces
Emergency assistance also required to combat water borne diseases
LPM made a statement that he abused his office by making Agriculture his first priority. I was shocked to note that those were the statements of a Head of State “NO VISION”
Management Information crisis and no one is paying attention to it.Our policy makers need to reorient themselves with the need to have a well developed Information system.Our livelihood in Zambia depends wholly on maize and this has a bearing on our inflation.What is worrying is lack of long trem strategies, reading through the lines Kapita is just talking about short term plans, they are things like global warming which is likely to affect the region in many more years to come and instead of puuting remedial measures in place he is opted to export just to earn afew dollars, whose interest is he saving?Forecasting and projections are cardinal in planning.Suppose the statistics he is waiting for comes out negatively to his expections what next?You can only export a stable food when you have a surplus but this man has not yet seen anything to that effect, he counted the chicks before they eggs hatched, this is quite serious and negligent type of management.
Chilumba #8, This is not only an MI crisis but also a culture problem of not saving for tommorrow, a “hand to mouth” scenario, how can we export when some people in the country are relying on relief food from international donors. Am speechless,amazed and upset
Kayata,#9 even with information like floods affecting 1.4m people this man really saw it fit to export.these not only negligent type of behaviour but corrrupt too.Indeed Kayata its ‘hand to mouth’,Kapita has been ZNFU President before and he is not new to agriculture to sink so low.Where are we heading to?if people with extensive agric knowledge like Kapita can happily choose to become inept what more with vigilantes occupying other sensitive Ministries?
#9, Kayata, its sad when the govt starts stealing from farmers who toil to grow maize which is not even subsidezed, imagine they’re given a raw deal of a fixed maize marketing price at US$9 per 50kg bag of maize while the sale of 25kg maize meal is $11. Does, the govt really care about the people?
Yes, too much dependency on one crop is dangerous but the govt has do something to diversify and revamp food production in the country like rice production in western prov, cassava in Luapula, groundnut in Eastern, sweet potatoes in NW prov, beef in southern prov and maize in central prov and that can reduce the mono crop dependency and reduce crying for donors for MGOs.
#11,Samk,The MMD govt is full of contradition you wonder If at all they ever revisit their manifestos or they just work without any meaning ful guidelines. liberalising the pricing and marketing of agricultural inputs and commodities,what did this mean to them?Demand and supply must be the key factor to determine reasonable price,what mechanism did they use to fix the price when they dont even have records to value a commodity?We need serious policies that will support diversity but of course providing better incentives for those growing stapple food.Farmers can easily opt out to grow selery and what next?The problem we have in Zambia we donot believe incremental type of management, if FTJ and company had built on what KK designed and left in the agro sectors we would have managed to stabilise and withstand and slowly moved away from mono crop culture as SamK has stated above, rice in mongu, nuts in east, honey in central,pineapples in N/W,cassave in N/L etc.
Sam K #11,No the govt does nt care. I think Ministers should be prosecuted for neglect of the citizens of the country,then is when they’ll realise of their duties, because stealing from the poor is equal to crime on humanity.If it was a company,the minister would have been arrested for inefficiency and fraud charges.From the examples you’ve given like beef,look at how Zambeef has gained from the sale of beef and created employment for the local people,but what was govt’s reaction when it was been set up,they even wanted to deport the director,Irwin.How will the local enterpreneurs develop when the govt is the first to be negative?Other farmers can setup factories that would process the crops and life would be back to normal for the farmer’s.Innovation is what we need the most.
Chilumba #9, people like Kapita are “man from the bush,but bush in man still remains.”
Kayata… My Bro more than 99% of farmers in Zambia are peasant farmers. Most of them dont even produce 20 bages of maize. But they make up of 65% of the total maize produced in Zambia. This tells as that our maize production is in the hands of people who can not afford irrigation systems and purely depend on Gods grace. If there is a drought 65% of the maize is gone. Some time back i talked about Mundiya Sikatana. I believe with all his success at the Ministry of agriculture, his biggest failure was not to build maize storage facilities that can store maize for atleast five (5) years. The reason the government is quik to sale the supposed extra maize is because they have no storage facilities and they are too inept to realise the importance of food security. Kapita is and has been a farmer for his entire life. But i dont think he is up to scratch when it comes to developing policies that would create a sustainable storage and distribution framework for farmers.
SAGE..My Bro.. That explains everything ..Kapita was a peasant farmer now appointed Minister with no vision and hoping to see his fellow peasant farmers struggle and him smiling happily in that Pajero
#14 &15,its really worrying at the rate policies are being applied, no food security measures, this the 16th year MMD came into power and what role does FRA play in the agro sector?Atleast KK built silos on mungwi and cairo road but what has MMD done?The winter maize man just rejoiced over that innovativeness of making the crop grow in winter and left nothing to secure it, how do we rate such characters?The president has completely forgotten that nshima is what makes Zambia and he is busy chasing thieves in govt and elsewhere like there is no ACC,DEC,AG,ZP? He has decided to be a policeman, lawyer, investigator,scientist (GMO),Auditor,everything,this young democracy will fail from succeding because of poor management styles
Chilumba… KK tried to build a few silos In Lusaka and Kabwe.I dont know why food security did not strick KK as a serious concern. When you look how KK dealt with capital projects like Tazara,Tazama etc , he could have done it. What we need is a well planned capital investiment in food security. That means not a single grain of maize should rot. We have to build serious storage facilities in all the 52 districts (Has LPM created some more districts).Also create loan facilities for the peasant farmers. In maize production you dont expect much from big farmers. Maize farming is not lucrative enough. About the FRA,The FRA is an institution designed for politicians to borrow money from and not pay back.one of the is LPM. There are sheds in prety much every coner of the country built by the defunct co operatives. These sheds where designed to store maize for a season. unfortunatelly thats all we have and they havent been maintained for more than 15 years.
This report raises alarm on several issues. Firstly how do we have a government that can potray such incompetence on an issue as critical as food security. To export maize befor knowing howmuch we have is inexcusable. What happens if we end up having a shortage? Like ealier suggested Information is key in decisions that involve any kind of forecast.
Secondly, we really need to give our farmers a better deal. $9 for a 90kg bag of maize is quite steep any way you cut it. If we have enough to export then we can offer our farmers what ever the international price warrants us to provide as reward. Fair incentive is the only to motivate this very vital part of economic production. Also what help if any do we provide our farmers with in terms of subsidies?
Understood it is very difficult in an economy like ours to completely libralise a crop as critical as maize, gonvernment should however creat a more balanced situation. Lets not bite the fingers that feed us!
Loadist out!
Chilumba Francis Ngosa (#16), kindly send your email address and mobile number to [email protected].