Maize demand outstrips supply in Zimbabwe

In 2008, Zimbabwe harvested less than 500 000 tonnes of maize. Two years down the line, maize production more than doubled in 2009 and 2010 to 1,27 and 1,35 million tonnes respectively.

According to a FAO/WFP statement, Zimbabwe has 1,66 million tonnes of cereals available, against a total needs forecast of 2,09 million tonnes in the marketing year 2010/11 (April/ March).

"This leaves a 428 000 tonne shortfall," Liliana Balbi, the team leader of the FAO Global Information and Early Warning System, said.

What is however, notable is the increase in maize production that is largely attributed to a subsidised Government credit system for far-mers as well as an agricultural input assistance programme by the government, UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations.

These are credited with distributing nearly 140 000 tonnes of fertiliser and top dressing, and 22 373 tonnes of maize seed, to more than 700 000 households.

The 1,8 million hectares planted to maize this year was a 30-year historical high and represents a 20 percent increase from the previous year.

Despite the aforementioned increase in yields and hectarage, the country still does not have enough for all citizens making it vital to up productivity.

However, a significant chunk of land under cultivation was not mirrored in the production levels, which had only increased seven percent from the previous year.

The average (hectare) yield of maize has however, declined for the past 15 years.

The FAO/WFP report noted that national maize yields had decreased to 0,75 tonnes/ha, from 0,82 tonnes/ha recorded the last season.

Yields decreased in all farming sectors, with the exception of commercial farms, which recorded an average increase of 6 percent over the previous season.

Nationally, yields are just below the 10-year average (2000-2010) of 0,87 tonnes/ha and likewise, millet and sorghum yields have also fallen.

Despite the introduction of improved maize hybrids, their ready adoption by the farmers has been hindered by low producer prices, inefficient marketing arrangements and above all, the inability of producers to obtain regular supplies of fertilisers at economic prices.

Where the new and improved varieties have been adopted, ascending yields have been recorded and producers have gone beyond the usual 2 tonnes per hectare that is common with most farmers.

The potential for output growth has naturally been hindered by marketing difficulties and recurrent shortages of basic agricultural inputs like seed and fertilisers while prices of fertilisers have remained very high for farmers to manage.

Zimbabwe's maize crop, just like in any country in southern Africa, is vulnerable to drought and in the absence of government support, domestic maize production is therefore not competitive versus the imports that come in to fill the perceived deficits.

But with mitigating factors in place, some of which include reverting to irrigation and rolling out comprehensive support programmes, yields of maize can easily change for the better regardless of the incidence of a dry spell somewhere in the course of the season.

Malawi has done very well raising its yields from less than 2 million tonnes just two seasons ago to 3,5 million tonnes this year.

The Malawians have rolled out a comprehensive input scheme of highly subsidised fertilisers to enable every smallholder farmers to produce at least half a hectare of maize to boost national food security.

There are even indications that Malawi intends to extend the scheme to cover a hectare of maize for each farmer in the near future.

Malawi has supported a larger number of farmers and covered a correspondingly large area with maize, which has translated into the current high yields that have also made it possible for the country to export surplus.

Zimbabwe is looking at ways of mitigating the impact of the recurrent mid-season droughts that have dented yields over the past few years.

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made recently conceded that the sector was at the mercy of the harsh climatic changes taking place globally, which makes it imperative for more irrigation systems to be developed.

"Irrigation is a must. We have to continue to produce adequate seed and leave no room for GMO imports.

"It is important that we focus on irrigation development and input supply.

"We are currently working on developing our irrigation system with help from our friends while focussing on more research on breeding drought resistant breeds and training our human resources to approach production matters technically and scientifically," said Minister Made.

Minister Made also emphasised the need to have a very clear department of irrigation backed by very clear field supervision of staff.

We must also adopt ways of conserving all the water that is in our reservoirs so that it is harnessed for irrigation and boost yields in the event of poor seasons," he said.

"The Department of Agricultural Engineering must also be on the ground to repair machinery like tractors, combine harvesters and other pieces of equipment while training the farmers as well.

"This will guarantee effective use of implements that translates into higher yields too," he added.

On the other hand, Government should mobilise lines of credit for A2 farmers to boost their capacity as well, said Minister Made.

Similarly, Agritex principal director Mr Joseph Gondo added that the long term solution to drought problems was to develop irrigation infrastructure to capacitate farmers to save their crops in the event of dry spells coming in the middle of a season.

"On the other hand, the short-term strategy involves adopting agronomic strategies that include timely planting, selection of short season varieties and staggering the ages of the planted crop to make sure they emerge and grow at different times," said Mr Gondo.

It is vital, resources permitting for the country to increase the inputs assistance from the current one bag of Compound D, one of Ammonium Nitrate and a 10kg pack of seed to also increase the area under maize.

"This time around more than 4 500 households benefited from the various input schemes rolled out by Government and other players in the agricultural sector yet we have millions of smallholder farmers who all need to take part in the fight against food insecurity," commented Mr Gondo.

The other possible route may involve the Government encouraging inputs suppliers to look into other facilities and make arrangements with banks, farmers organisations and fine-tuning the supply chain while guaranteeing repayment of loans, explained Mr Gondo.

The absence of lines of credit remains agriculture's biggest undoing as financial institutions can only afford to give short-term loans, which are not possible with agriculture as it requires long term financing before the product can generate some revenue after marketing.

"One other way Zimbabwe can also take care of some of the smallholder farmers' problems is for Government to clearly define a contract policy that protects both the farmer and the contractor - two parties that have been at each other's throat every time over breaching of terms," Mr Gondo said.

Zimbabwe is undertaking a massive mechanisation drive of the agricultural sector and this will also include revamping existing irrigation infrastructure and establishing new systems as well.

The country is hugely dependent on rain-fed agriculture.

It is however, unfortunate that there is no significant irrigation infrastructure at the moment especially for the majority of smallholder far-mers to turn to when the seasons turn bad.

With the current climate changes and cyclic droughts that have affected Zimbabwe for years, it is vital to create assets such as small-scale irrigation infrastructure, repair the worst affected water reservoirs like dams, rivers through environmentally friendly methods like re-afforestation.

This will help to reduce the amount of run-off that later translates into erosion and conserve the soil to encourage crop production and mitigate the impact of drought and related shocks.