SANF 11 No 9
The overall food security situation in southern Africa is set to remain stable this year as most SADC countries are expecting good harvests in the 2010/2011 agricultural season.
Assessments by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) project that a good harvest recorded from the previous season is sufficient to meet the region’s requirement until March and even beyond.
FEWSNET say improved harvests in SADC countries over the last few years is due to favourable rains as well as various agricultural interventions by national governments to boost production.
“Food security conditions over most parts of the region remain generally stable, and are expected to remain so throughout October 2010 to March 2011,” FEWSNET said in its assessment.
FEWSNET added that most parts of the region including Malawi, Mozambique, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia will not experience any “acute food insecurity” in the first quarter of the year while some parts of Angola and Zimbabwe might require additional imports.
However, the situation is likely to be manageable as most SADC countries are predicting a bumper harvest this season.
South Africa estimates a maize surplus of about 6 million tonnes which can be exported to neighbouring countries that may require additional imports.
Swaziland, though not a major crop producer, has also reported an improved season with the President of the Swaziland National Agricultural Farmers’ Union, Jabulani Tsabedze saying “although it is too early to be certain, indications are to the effect that the country would receive a bumper harvest this season.”
“Farmers believe they will get a bumper crop this season mainly because they have gone all out and planted this year, as well as the fact that the country has been blessed with good rainfall since the start of the planting season,” Tsabedze told the local media.
In Zimbabwe, harvest is expected to be good following improved rains and increased hectares of planted crops.
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made announced that the area planted with maize was up from about 530,000 ha in 2009/2010 to 660,000 ha in the 2010/2011 season.
Malawi, which since 2005 increased its production to record levels, has predicted a bumper harvest. The country has forecast to produce about 2.35 million tonnes of maize, just over the annual requirement of 2 million.
Malawi was the first SADC country to allocate 10 percent of its budget to agriculture, and this is credited as one of the factors in Malawi’s bumper harvests in its recent agricultural seasons.
As a result of this robust turnaround in the agricultural sector, Malawi has moved from being a food deficit country to one producing surplus grain for other SADC countries. In fact, the phenomenal increase in maize production has saved the country a yearly budget of US$120 million that it had spent in 2005 importing food aid.
While other countries are still to make more comprehensive predictions, estimates suggest that production levels would be better than, or the same as those achieved in the previous season.
The overall food security situation in southern Africa for the 2009/10 marketing year was favourable, with a regional cereal surplus of 476,000 tonnes compared to a deficit of 1.78 million tones registered in 2008/09.
However, there have been concerns that despite having a good surplus of cereals, the region has a number of people who are still failing to access food due to various challenges such as low income and high food prices. SADC Today
