Zambia’s maize harvest to increase

  1. Posted on Thursday 16 April 2009 - 11:08
    Sam Banda Junior
    Image of Sam Banda Junior
    Sam Banda Jnr, AfricaNews reporter in Blantyre, Malawi
    Zambia is expected to yield more maize compared to the previous year due to good rains. According to reports, the country will this year surpass a target of 1.2 million tonnes which was for the previous year. This has come as good news to the country that suffered floods which damaged the crop last year.
    corn_maize
    This year the country has also faced some floods but they are reported to have done less damage to maize which is a staple food for most of the southern African countries.

    According to media reports the previous year’s maize harvest declined from 1.3 million tonnes in 2006/2007 season to 1.2 million tonnes. This led the country to import about 100,000 tonnes of maize to cut the shortage.

    A Reuters report quoted Peter Cottan, the Millers Association of Zambia vice president as saying that the maize crop would be better due to better rains and plantings by farmers.

    "Our early indication is that we are going to exceed 1.2 million metric tonnes (of white maize) this year. We expect to have a bumper crop in traditional maize growing areas," Cottan said.

    He added that although the national forecast of maize production had not been completed, some preliminary indications showed of positive indications on total national output.

    Malawi is also one of the countries that depend on maize as its staple food and prospects are also high that this year the yield will be high.

    The country also received good rains despite other parts experiencing floods which swept the crop.

    President Bingu Wa Mutharika and Djibouti president Ismail Guelleh visited one of the flood hit districts recently where they donated seeds and treadle pumps for irrigation farming.

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