News / National
Serious maize deficit looms
21 Mar 2013 at 15:23hrs | Views
The country is likely to face a serious maize deficit this season following the decline of the annual maize yield from 2,2 million metric tonnes to around 1,2 million metric tonnes.
The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) says this year's maize yield is likely to decline drastically, with only 1,2 million metric tonnes expected instead of the 2,2 million tonnes.
The yield has been revised downwards, owing to the dry spell which hit most parts of the country late last year and the beginning of this year which was also followed by excessive rains, a situation which seriously affected the maize crop in most areas.
ZCFU President, Wonder Chabikwa said the country is likely to revise downwards its yield from 2,2 million metric tonnes to 800 metric tonnes if there are no rains for the late planted crop.
"We had hoped that the rains will be normal but the fact is we have a serious maize shortage. This has been compounded by the fact that most famers have abandoned growing the crop, opting for tobacco," he said.
Only Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central Provinces are expected to produce more maize this season while other provinces such as Matebeleland North and South, which were seriously affected by the unpredictable weather patterns, would rely on buying maize.
The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) says this year's maize yield is likely to decline drastically, with only 1,2 million metric tonnes expected instead of the 2,2 million tonnes.
The yield has been revised downwards, owing to the dry spell which hit most parts of the country late last year and the beginning of this year which was also followed by excessive rains, a situation which seriously affected the maize crop in most areas.
"We had hoped that the rains will be normal but the fact is we have a serious maize shortage. This has been compounded by the fact that most famers have abandoned growing the crop, opting for tobacco," he said.
Only Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central Provinces are expected to produce more maize this season while other provinces such as Matebeleland North and South, which were seriously affected by the unpredictable weather patterns, would rely on buying maize.
Source - zbc
