The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal, Industry and Fisheries has agreed to supply up to 500,000 metric tonnes of maize to Zambia.
This comes as the Southern African country struggles to contain famine following a prolonged dry spell that has adversely impacted the production of maize in 84 out of the country’s 116 districts.
The Uganda Agriculture ministry’s Permanent Secretary, David Kasura-Kyomukama, last month invited all stakeholders for a meeting to study Zambia’s request.
“The Government of Uganda has received an expression of interest for up to 500,000 MT of maize grain to be exported to Zambia. This has certain requirements including quality and available volumes to enable us to meet the export successfully,” Kyomukama said in a letter dated March 25, 2024, to all stakeholders.
“The purpose of this letter is to invite you to a stakeholders meeting to discuss the process and requirements for this opportunity,” he added.
And now it has emerged that Uganda has agreed to supply the maize in phases following a meeting last week. Maize is the most cultivated crop in Uganda, with the country harvesting 2.8 million metric tonnes of the crop in 2022, according to data from UBOS.
Oxfam in March 2024 warned that over six million people from farming families in Zambia are facing acute food shortages and malnutrition due to a severe drought, exacerbated by climate change and El Nino, which has caused massive crop failures for half of the nation’s “planted area”.
The drought has forced the Zambian government to declare a national disaster and emergency. The drought has hit 84 of the country’s 116 districts, affecting more than a million farming households.
Zambia’s malnutrition rates remain among the highest in the world. Before declaration of disaster, 48% of people (17.4million) in Zambia were unable to meet their minimum calorie requirements and 35% of children are stunted.
