via Zimbabwe imports maize after poor harvest – Southern Eye
Harare – Zimbabwe plans to import 700 000 tons of the staple maize grain to plug a deficit after bad weather affected the crop from the current farming season, state radio reported on Tuesday.
It quoted Agriculture Minister Joseph Made as saying Zimbabwe had 150 000 tons of maize in stock and was looking to import to make up for the shortfall.
Zimbabwe requires at least 1.8 million tons of maize annually and has over the years relied on imports from neighbouring countries, including Zambia and South Africa, to plug the gap from local production.
Domestic output is expected to drop by 35 percent to 950 000 tons this year compared with 2014, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has said.
Earlier this year the government, anticipating a low maize harvest, lifted a ban on imports it had imposed last year.
Made said the government would focus on delivering food to rural areas while private millers would import maize to sell in urban areas. He was not immediately available for comment.
Agriculture contributes 17 percent to Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product and the decline in maize production is expected to impact on growth, which the government has forecast at 3.2 percent for 2015.
COMMENTS
Amazing that Zimbabwe for the last 15 years has had continued weather related problems that have resulted in another maize miss crop and will have to rely on maize imports once again. Come on Zimbabwe stop blaming the weather and put in corrective measures to correct the bad decisions that Government has made in the past. Wake up to the real world.
It quoted Agriculture Minister Joseph Made as saying Zimbabwe had 150 000 tons of maize in stock and was looking to import to make up for the shortfall.
This is the same idiot who once flew over Zimbabwe in an aircraft and said there was a bumper harvest and when the harvest failed his explanation was the pilot had flown too high so he couldn’t tell the difference between weeds and maize.
No wonder the agricultural sector is failing when you have such an incompetent fool at the helm.
These idiots cut off their noses to spite their faces and if they hadn’t got rid of trained and competent white commercial farmers the headline would have read “Zimbabwe exports maize to the region”
Government has been importing maize for years now since the Land reform programme… so this is no news at all. We have never been able to feed ourselves for years now. This year it might be worse but there’s no difference really.. importation is importation.
So – they have different weather in Zambia then? When is The Bhobho going to complain about the dastardly “weather sanctions”? LOL
Really folks, “I am NOT the one!” It is the weather.
Funny how the ex-Zimbabwean white farmers in Zambia seem to have no problem!
We will continue importing maize as long as soldiers, police officers, CIO agents, doctors, teachers and lawyers own farms. Farms were supposed to be given to rural farmers. Ministers, MPs and DAs gave farms to their relatives, friends and lovers. This must be reversed.