Zambia sold 226,229 tonnes of maize to countries in the southern, eastern and central African sub regions, for the marketing season up to January 27 2012.
The Times of Zambia reports (01 February 2012) that the Food Reserve Agency, which effectively also serves as the country’s maize marketing body, sold a total of 444,641 tonnes of maize valued at US$69million to the local market and in exports.
The FRA is the government body charged with buying maize
from Zambian farmers, maintaining a strategic reserve of the staple crop and
exporting any surplus. Zambia
has enjoyed a number of years of good maize harvests, harvesting 3 million
tonnes in the 2010/11 season, up slightly from the previous season’s 2.8
million tones.
Late and erratic rains during the current (October 2011-May
2012) maize growing season throughout the sub-region have raised alarms of a
maize deficits in several countries, including Malawi and Zambia, which in
recent years have made up for the production shortfalls in countries like
Zimbabwe and others. With almost the whole region having experienced late and
erratic rains, there is a real risk of significant maize shortages in many
countries.
The current doubtful maize-growing season will severely test
the overall food security strategy of Zambia.
Having overcome the basic issue of producing enough maize for local consumption
plus a surplus over a number of seasons, the 2012 harvest season may show
whether enough has been done to prepare for poor maize seasons. There will be a
political, economic and food security implications if the maize harvest is much
lower than expected and if the FRA does not have enough of a reserve in its
silos to cover the difference.
Questions will be asked about the wisdom of having exported
so much of the surplus in the good years. On the other hand, the FRA has many
capacity constraints that limit how much of any season’s surplus it can soak up.
One key such constraint is limited storage facilities, which in 2011 saw some
exposed stored maize being rained on.
Agriculture minister Emmanuel Chenda dismisses such
concerns. According to a January 19
2012 Reuters report, he said, "We are monitoring the situation
very carefully to ensure that we don't end up importing maize. I think we are
standing on very firm ground in
terms of food security. We had more than one million tonnes
of surplus maize. We decided to export 600,000 tonnes because we didn't have
storage space and so far we
have sold 200,000 tonnes,"
Maize is, unfortunately, almost the very definition of ‘food
security’ in many African countries. The given reason of lack of storage space
for selling off some of Zambia’s
maize surplus is basically sound. And of course, maize is also an economic
commodity like any other, so if there is extra of it to earn a country hard
currency export earnings, that is always welcome.
The Reuters report quotes a Zambian economist as alleging
that the Zambian government was buying the maize at above market prices and
selling it at reduced prices. He said this meant the government was effectively
using "Treasury funds to subsidize the region."
The economist did not explain why Zambia
would export its maize at a loss, assuming his charge was true. But it must be
pointed out that an additional element of the mythical importance that maize
has been allowed to assume is that for many African countries, being able to
export maize is seen as a matter of great national prestige; a universally
understood marker in maize-dependent countries of agricultural success.
All this will be turned on its head if Zambia
finds itself needing to import maize in 2012. The ‘prestige’ of maize surplus
will suddenly turn to the ‘embarrassment’ of maize shortages and imports.
This will be further complicated by the maize deficits that
seem likely throughout the region in 2012. A regional maize shortage would mean
more expensive exports from further away.
When there are good rains, Zambia
seems to have found the answers to growing enough maize for its needs plus a
surplus. However, 2012’s expected poor maize harvest may expose the many
remaining challenges that need to be addressed for longer-term food security.
Among them is more investment in grain storage facilities, as well as an
expansion in irrigated versus rain-fed maize cultivation.
