Zambia In 2.1 million Metric Tonnes Maize Deficit
The Ministry of Agriculture and Zambia Statistics Agency have disclosed that the country has recorded a net deficit of 2,107,745 metric tonnes of Maize needed for human consumption and industrial requirements against the anticipated 3.2 million metric tonnes in the 2023/2024 farming season.
The Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and other cooperating partners to achieve President Hichilema’s goal to harvest 10 million metric tonnes of maize every year by 2027.
In the 2023/2024 farming season, the country produced a total of 1.5 million Metric tonnes of Maize following the drought that affected the entire Southern African Region.
This is despite the country having recorded an increase in the number of hectares planted during the farming season which stood at 2, 209,260 hectors of planted maize with a big chunk recorded in Southern Province followed by Muchinga.
Mpongwe district on the Copperbelt Province recorded the highest number of maize produced giving a total of 85,098 metric tonnes followed by Mkushi that produced a total of 85,0697 metric tonnes, whilst Mpulungu recorded the lowest at 33,786 metric tonnes.
Government has acknowledged that the drought experienced in this agriculture season has had a significant impact on crop production, which resulted in a reduction in outputs across all crops compared to previous years.
In order to mitigate the effects of the dry spell, the Government is facilitating the importation of more than 600,000 metric tonnes of white non GMO Maize to support the drought-affected households.
The government has also urged the private sector to import maize and other foods to help reduce the deficit.
It has also called for private sector involvement in the production and marketing of agricultural commodities.
Other measures taken by government to increase the production of Maize to achieve the envisioned annual production of 10 million metric tonnes of maize include reforming the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) by migrating 74 districts to E-voucher; providing farmers with more flexibility in the types of inputs available under the programme.
Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture will this month flag off fertiliser distribution under the FISP direct input supply mode to be implemented in 42 districts.
The government has also expanded the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (Credit Window) for the 2024/2025 farming season to include small-scale irrigation equipment, farm power mechanisation, livestock, and aquaculture, in addition to seed and fertiliser.
Farmers have been implored to access support through the expanded Credit Window provided through banks at 12 percent interest to fund irrigation equipment such as boreholes, solar pumps, and solar stands and pining to support the smallholder farmers in the production of early and winter maize.
In August this year, the Government will relaunch the Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Support Programme (CATSP) focused on legislative reforms and policy instruments that will boost agricultural production, increase value addition, encourage the use of climate smart technologies and establish collaborations to improve national food security.
All these measures are expected to empower farmers to achieve the Presidential targets of producing 10 million metric tonnes of maize, one million tonnes of wheat and one million tonnes of soya beans annually.