Just days after Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi announced that the government is contracting Zambian farmers to grow maize exclusively for the Kenyan market, Zambia's Finance Minister has come out to say that the southern African country will not be exporting the grain to Kenya this season due to its own shortages of the grain.
Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, in an interview with Nation.Africa on the side-lines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington DC, said Zambia will instead be importing maize to supplement shortfalls occasioned by a poor harvest last season.
“I think we all know that there has been a shortage of maize, especially in border areas near Tanzania, Congo and Malawi. In the most immediate response, the government decided that we allow importation to supplement whatever we have so that shortages can be alleviated,” said Dr Musokotwane yesterday.
The Minister was non-committal on the plan announced by CS Linturi to plant maize in Zambia for the Kenyan market and said he was yet to be fully briefed by his Agriculture colleague Mtolo Phiri.
“That is a bit of information that the Minister for Agriculture in Zambia can handle,” Dr Musokotwane said.
A critical maize shortage has also hit some parts of Zambia with consumers queuing to buy the staple commodity. This has seen Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema activate an emergency response in order to alleviate the situation.
Zambia, which is unable to meet Kenya’s immediate grain requirements, had reportedly offered between 20,000 hectares and 40,000 hectares to grow the crop for the Kenyan market.
Mr Linturi and Mr Phiri signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in March to allow large-scale farming of maize in Zambia for export to Nairobi. But the announcement did not go down well with Kenyan and Zambian agriculture stakeholders.
For instance, the Kenya Farmers Association argued that the timing is wrong.
“If he says that he will be importing maize in August, that will be harvesting time in most parts of Western and Rift Valley, and even in Uganda and Tanzania,” said the association’s director Kipkorir Menjo.
“I don’t think that was a well-thought-out plan. The timing is not right, as it will affect prices and maize production from the North Rift,” he added.
He said the government should provide farm inputs during the planting season to enable farmers produce enough maize for the country instead of seeking imports every time there is a shortage, perceived or real.
In the southern African country, the Golden Party of Zambia (GPZ) described the move as a betrayal to the Zambian people and urged the government to empower the youth to grow the maize for the Kenyan market.
The cost of maize flour has gone up, with a two-kilo packet now retailing at more than Ksh200 ($1.50), from Ksh186 ($1.40) last month, in line with the rising cost of the cereal that has seen a 90-kilo bag hit Ksh6,100 ($45.50) from Ksh5,300 ($39.55).
Last week, Kenya’s Agriculture Principal Secretary Harsama Kello, who had accompanied Linturi to Zambia, said Kenya was looking to import one million tonnes of maize to meet its national deficit after traditional maize exporters from Uganda and Tanzania cited reduced production last season.
“South Africa is the only country with maize stocks in Africa and many countries are now scrambling for the commodity. We are likely to have a challenge with maize arriving in time due to availability in the market,” said Harsama.
