Maize imports option for Malawi—FAO

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) have said maize imports remain critical for Malawi to avert hunger following poor harvest resulting from weather socks.

In a collaborative blog published on May 31 2024, the organisation argued that winter and irrigation farming, cash transfers as well as local maize purchases are not enough solutions to meet the need and that donors are key to support the imports.

The report comes at a time the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) said it is facing a deficit of about K643.8 billion ($367.7 million) to provide relief support to two million households affected by El Nino weather conditions that have reduced harvest in the country.

The blog is authored by, among others, Ifpri Development Strategies and Governance Unit research fellow Jan Duchoslav, WFP Malawi deputy country director Simon Denhere and FAO assistant country representative George Phiri.

It reads in part: “If the government’s plans to grow maize during the dry winter season were realised, they would make up for Malawi’s entire production deficit. But that’s unlikely to happen.

“This leaves only one viable means to ensure that Malawians do not go hungry this year: food imports.”

Like in previous reports, they urge that the purchases should will not close the gap between annual production and annual consumption requirements.

The National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) is targeting 82 000 metric tonnes (MT) for the SGRs, but requires up to 300 000 MT to fill the SGRs.

In its recent anal ysis published on May 31 2024, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FewsNet) said field assessments at the end of April confirmed that most households have started to apply crisis coping strategies to food shortage they are facing.

“Field assessments showed that 15 to 40 percent of households have no food from their own production in the immediate post-harvest period, further exacerbating acute food insecurity,” reads the analysis.

On March 23 this year, President Chakwera declared a State of Disaster in 23 of the country ’s 28 districts affected by the El Nino weather phenomenon.

So far, the World Bank responded favourably and has contributed $56.7 million (about K99.3 billion) to the food relief efforts.

Preliminary assessments show that about two million farming households have been affected, with 749 113 hectares of maize affected, representing 44.3 percent of the national crop area.