ZAMBIA – Zambia has doubled its maize production in the past 20 years aided by increased area and productivity, prompting neighboring countries and beyond to look to Zambia to plug their deficit in the crop.

This was announced by the Ministry of Agriculture while giving a review of the crop’s production status in the country.

To enhance sustained food output, Zambia has adopted the Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Support Programme, a policy anchored on policy instruments and legislative reform to stimulate production, increase value, and the uptake of climate-smart technologies.

According to the agricultural ministry, in the 2022/23 farming season, Zambia’s maize output was 3.3 million tons, slightly lower than the 3.6 million tons produced in 2021/22.

In July, USDA reported that Zambia’s corn crop is expected to grow by 23 percent to 3.3 MMT in MY 2023/24 (May 2023 to April 2024), mainly due to a 27 percent upsurge in area harvested to an estimated 1.4 million hectares (MHa).

According to the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia, the number of small- and medium-scale farming households that planted crops in MY 2023/24, expanded by 44 percent.

This year, Zambia exported 60 000t of maize to various countries with northern neighbor the DRC accessing more than 6 000t and Rwanda about 4 000t.

On the other hand, private buyers across the continent also procured the crop to plug their deficit spurred by climate change effects

However, the ministry highlighted that despite the high productivity rate of maize, the country experienced various climatic change effects.

The country faced late rainfall, floods, dry spells, and crop diseases, where more than 91,981 ha of land was destroyed by heavy rains and flash floods.

A total of 219, 610ha under crop production was damaged by the dry spell. A total of 319,611ha was damaged by dry spells, flash floods, stalk borers, and fall armyworms.

The maize surplus recorded was 470 379t, implying the country would need to import 3,24 million tons to meet consumption for a population of about 20.4 million, including industrial consumption.

The government said that the national food balance sheet showed the country had recorded a net deficit of 46 855t of paddy rice, as well as a net deficit of 108, 561t of wheat during the period under review.

The government said that food output has been bolstered by a 2.5 million rise in small- and medium-scale farming households.a