Southern African countries poised for bumper harvest

Food security prospects in southern African countries have brightened amid indications that most countries in the region are poised for a bumper harvest this year.

Almost all mainland member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have indicated that they are likely to harvest enough maize to meet domestic requirements and, in some instances, to export to other countries, according to a report by the regional organisation.

The latest report released by SADC said countries such as Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, that have been worst hit by a series of droughts since 2000, for the first time this year said they will have enough food.

For the first time in five years, drought-prone Malawi expects to harvest about 2.35 million metric tons of the staple maize crop, up from just 1.3 million tons in 2005.

Malawi's domestic annual maize consumption is two million tons. The country's last bumper crop was 2.3 million tons in 2000.

Local officials attribute this year's improved harvest to better weather conditions and government initiative to subsidise seeds and fertiliser, which made farming affordable.

The country is now forecasting its economic growth to surpass the eight percent mark this year on the back of the better crop harvests. The Malawian economy heavily depends on agriculture.

Zimbabwe, which also has been experiencing food shortages since 2001, is forecasting 1.8 million tons of maize for this year. Last season's output was a mere 550,000 tons.

The country requires about 1.8 million tons of maize per year for human consumption, stock feeds and industrial use.

In Mozambique, Agriculture Minister Tomas Mandlate said the country's grain harvest this year is forecast at around 2.1 million tons, up 10 percent on the 2005 output of about 1.9 million tons.

About 1.5 million tons of the grain output will be maize, representing an 11 percent increase over last season.

Mozambique's annual domestic maize consumption is about 1.4 million tons, making the country self-sufficient this year. However, the bulk of the maize production was in the fertile northern provinces, and transporting grain surpluses from the north to food deficit areas in the south is expensive.

The good rains in the 2005-2006 season are also reflected in the high production of vegetables and cassava, which rose by 9.6 and 13.8 percent, respectively.

With 1.4 million tons of maize produced in 2006, Zambia has a food surplus of 160,000 tons this year compared to last year's 85,000 tons deficit.