Maize scarcity frustrates Malawians

Maize scarcity in some markets in the country has left Malawians frustrated despite a second round report on crop production estimates projected a 360 000 metric tonnes (MT) surplus this season.

The estimates report issued in February 2023 anticipated that the country would produce 3.56 million MT of maize against the national requirement of 3.2 million MT.

Ministry of Agriculture, however, says the projections were made prior to Cyclone Freddy and that a final crop production report is being compiled.

A spot-check Nation on Sunday conducted last week in selected key markets in 18 districts, established that the grain has become a scarce commodity.

The districts are Blantyre, Mangochi, Nsanje, Chikwawa, Mulanje, Phalombe, Chiradzulu, Lilongwe, Ntcheu, Ntchisi, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Rumphi, Mzuzu, Nkhotakota, Nkhata Bay and Mzimba.

In Blantyre, key markets such as Chadzunda, Zingwangwa, Ndirande, and Bangwe had no maize. People we spoke to said maize was available the week before but was sold out due to high demand.

Griny Malizani from Ruben Village in Traditional Authority Somba said she has had to scout different markets in search for the grain.

She said: “For two weeks now I have been unable to buy maize because its scarce. As a result, my family has been surviving on tea.”

Fortunately, as we were conducting the interview, two men were passing by selling pounded maize at K3 500 per tin which Malizani bought.

She bought three tins at K10 500. She could not hide her excitement as this meant she was going to have a proper meal.

Malizani said despite the maize not being enough to take her four-member family even for four days, it would still make a difference for them.

“At least my family will now be happy to have a proper meal after two weeks. This is a big relief to me,” she said.

Malizani said she will not relent but keep searching for maize until she buys a 50-kilogramme bag that can cushion her family for at least two months.

Similarly, Jean Kabudula from Bangwe Township said she has been searching for maize for two weeks, but to no avail.

We cannot deny the fact that something urgently needs to be done to ensure accessibility of maize as well as its affordability to avert catastrophe.

Maize is becoming a scarce and expensive commodity on the market and as the country’s staple food, this development should worry authorities.

The single mother of two, who does pieceworks, said she has been surviving on maize husks.

“But this week the maize husks have been scarce as well. When I go to the maize mills to buy, I find that people who crush their maize also collect husks,” she lamented.

Kabudula said her family has in the meantime been relying on fritters.

She expressed fears that by September, the situation might escalate and her family would starve.

Kabudula harvested only two bags as a larger part of her garden was washed away by Cyclone Freddy induced mudslides.

Roza Cassim from Mangochi District echoed Kabudula’s fears, saying the maize scarcity is causing panic.

“We just hope something good happens,” she said.

Alinafe Mwansambo from Mitundu in Lilongwe District also said the maize scarcity has raised fears among the community she lives in.

“People have fears that the maize scarcity will trigger a price increase where the grain will be found, disadvantaging most of us who earn less from the pieceworks that we do,” she said.

On her part, Elizabeth Mzumara from Karonga District said maize scarcity has gotten worse and appealed to the government to consider opening Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) markets.

“Admarc offers maize at affordable prices so maybe this will help apart from the grain itself being available,” she said.

Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito in an interview said there is need for the government to implement cushioning mechanisms.

He said: “The maize scarcity will obviously trigger an increase in the prices and we wonder what cushioning mechanisms government has put in place considering that Admarc will not buy maize.”

The Ministry of Agriculture recently indicated that Admarc will not be involved in maize purchases this year and that the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) will instead take up the role.

NFRA was allocated K6 billion for the exercise.

Agriculture policy expert Tamani Nkhono Mvula agreed with Nation on Sunday’s observations, stressing that the dire situation was expected.

He said the maize scarcity will be compounded by Admarc’s absence on the market.

“You may recall we had the cyclone and floods in most of the lakeshore areas but also drought in the North. But at the same time we had challenges with the Affordable Inputs Programme [AIP].

“The AIP is very important because it contributes significantly to food security in this country. So, the challenges that the programme faced has also affected production or output in general,” Nkhono Mvula said.

But Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale in a written response said the government will implement numerous mechanisms to support the citizenry.

He said the exact production figures would be known after the final figures are compiled.

“The general public should know that there will be some hotspot areas which may still be food insecure despite the cushioning mechanisms.

“These hotspot areas will be ably assisted by the government through humanitarian assistance and price stabilisation depending on severity,” Kawale said.

Maize, as part of the food component, accounts for about 53.7 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is an aggregate basket of goods and services for computing inflation.