Timothy
Martin Kadzere
Maize deliveries to Zimbabwean silos reached just over 900 000 tonnes in five months to September this year, compared with 138 000 tonnes during the same period last year and authorities are still hopeful of the hitting the 1,8 million tonnes target.
The marketing season starts from April 1 of each year to March, 31 of the following year “and we are well on course as we are still receiving grain from farmers,” Grain Marketing Board (GMB) chief executive Mr Rockie Mutenha said yesterday.
“The ongoing grain intake season is proceeding well compared to the same period last year,” he added. Still on about 50 percent, weekly inflows had dropped but prospects for another good harvest could boost deliveries, some analysts say.
The 1,8 million tonnes is what the Government has projected would be delivered to the national solos. But total national production is estimated at 2,8 million tonnes, three times higher than 900 000 tonnes produced a year earlier. Maize deliveries to the national granary reached about 170 000 tonnes last year, according to the GMB.
Zimbabwe needs about 1,8 million tonnes of maize, its staple annually but observers have downplayed potential food insecurity even if the target is missed because many households are holding enough stocks to take them through the next harvest.
“Deliveries might improve on the back of projected good yields but reaching the target might be difficult.
“But it doesn’t mean people are going to be food insecure because most farmers have kept grain for consumption,” said a commodity analyst with a Harare based research firm.
“Given the unpredictability of weather patterns and back to back droughts experienced in the past two seasons, even those who had surplus might have decided to hold on to their maize because they were not sure if they will receive good rains in the coming season. So with another good season anticipated, deliveries might improve.”
At this time of the year after a bad season, maize prices normally starts picking up but they have largely remained stable. The stability is likely to be sustained after initial weather forecast show the region would receive normal to above normal rains.
Bongani Ndlovu