Judith Phiri [email protected]
THE Small to Medium Millers Association of Zimbabwe (SMMAZ) has called for responsible and sustainable grain imports ahead of the predicted El Niño phenomenon, urging millers to prioritise locally produced grain to protect farmers and safeguard the country’s food security.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depot in Bulawayo tour on Thursday, SMMAZ chairperson Managing Director of the United Milling Company, Mr Davis Muhambi said while grain imports could be necessary to bridge potential supply gaps arising from below-normal rainfall forecasts, excessive imports risked undermining local agricultural production.
“There is going to be a super El Niño which is coming and going to be more extraordinary than all other El Niño phenomena that we have experienced in the past. So the issue for us is to import sustainably.
“We underscore the word sustainable because we still need to protect our farmers. So this is where Statutory Instrument (SI) 87 comes in. What we are experiencing in Zimbabwe is high cost of production. Some of the parameters involved that form part of the costing is fertiliser, the biggest part we have got no control over that,” he said.
“There are geopolitical issues that are happening right now that affect the price of fertilisers and inputs. We also have the issue of us being GMO (genetically modified organisms) competing against non-GMO countries.”
He said the issue for them was to balance out to ensure that they do import enough so that we avert a crisis but also do so responsibly so that they are able to protect the farmers.
Mr Muhambi who is also the chairperson of Enhanced Import Committee (Pillar 5), said striking a balance between imports and prioritising local productions was critical to ensure farmers can go back to the fields and they need them to be self-sufficient in the future.
He added: “We have already consumed much of the excess harvests which came out. There has also been a lot of conservation by people in terms of stock, obviously being a bit apprehensive because of the drought. So we have then come in and millers have been allowed to import, the borders are open. So the issue of shortage has nothing to do with SI 87, but it is an issue of capacity. Do we as millers have the capacity to import?”
Mr Muhambi said this is what needs to be addressed, which was a finance issue, but from what they see, imports have been coming in and they have increased in the months of September and October after the levies were revised down to US$40 from US$50.
He said though they were having challenges with the borders, as a pillar which comprises of membership of various stakeholders and value actors including customs and freight forwarders, they have managed to break that impasse and the commodity has started moving.
“We are also glad to announce that through our negotiations with our stakeholders in customs, we have created green routes to try and increase the inflow of product. What is very important for people to note is that the impact of El Niño is going to be more felt in 2027,” he said.
“Right now we are feeding off a harvest of the previous year, but the impact of El Niño is going to be felt in 2027 and the attitudes even of those that are exporting to us might change. What is important is to bring in as much stock and have it in country and this is what we are facilitating to ensure that we avert any sort of crisis in terms of milling.”
Mr Muhambi said from what they understand as a pillar, there is stocks available in the shops and they have not heard of yet of any crisis in terms of unavailability of mealie meal in the shop.
He said the desire to mill more than they are currently doing is there, but that does not mean that there is a crisis.
SI 87 of 2025 is a Government policy that regulates the importation of grain and oilseeds to boost local agricultural production and reduce foreign currency drain.
The key rule of the SI is the local sourcing quotas which states that for processors and grain millers are required to source at least 40 percent of their grain and oilseed needs locally (starting April 1, 2026), scaling up to 100 percent by 2028.
