WINTER MAIZE IS THE ANSWER – KAHEKO

By Jessica Mwansa

THE Government should engage commercial farmers and encourage small scale farmers to grow winter maize as a lasting solution to stabilize mealie meal prices and maize shortages in the country, Political analyst Lweendo Kaheko has charged.

In an interview with The Scoop, Mr. Kaheko said engaging and encouraging more farmers to grow winter maize would be a solution to the millers as well as the farmers themselves.

He said the issues surrounding mealie meal prices were quite vast and ranged from the administration of land in Zambia to climate change.

 “The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Program (CASP) has been infective in addressing the real challenges faced in the agricultural sector. Its implementation has been highly politicized benefiting unintended beneficiaries, thereby causing the delay in the distribution of farming inputs which in most cases contributes to the low bumper harvest.

‘’Farmers should be encouraged to grow winter maize as this will enable sustainability of the commodity and will ensure the country is food secure. The high cost of fertilizer is also greatly affecting maize production in Zambia. This has an adverse impact on the price of mealie meal because once maize is scarce, it is inevitable that mealie meal prices rise. However, when farmers venture into winter maize, the input costs are low because winter maize is not vulnerable to pests,’’ Mr. Kaheko said.

He said the shocks of climate change have had an impact on the agricultural sector especially the production of maize because farmers were highly dependent on rains.

‘’Our farmers are largely dependent on rains but the input costs are more expensive as compared to winter farming. During winter, farmers can simply set up irrigation pipes and they are guaranteed of returning their money,’’ he said.

He added that the major concern was on the performance of the economy and the comparative market price of maize and mealie meal in countries like the DRC and Mozambique where the commodity fetched at a higher price.

‘’Farmers therefore prefer to sell their products in the mentioned countries where they earn more. However, Zambia has the capacity to produce more than enough maize and curb mealie meal shortages, and stabilize the prices. The Government needs to build capacity in the agriculture sector if success is to be achieved,’’ he said.

He said there was a need for the Government to find lasting solutions to the mealie meal situation in the country adding that the only solution was by ramping up production so as to meet demand.

‘’The Government must put in place a tight monitoring mechanism of cross-border trade in mealie meal. Due to porous border monitoring mechanisms, maize and mealie meal smuggling is on the increase, thereby creating shortages and price hikes locally. Maize and mealie cannot be sold without the Governments’ strengthened monitoring mechanisms,’’ he said.