• It will be tricky to confirm that the country has a bumper harvest.
• Farmers faced a number of challenges in terms of input supply, floods and droughts due to climate change.
• Government needs to tell the nation the truth about maize production.

Small Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) has expressed mixed feelings over the recorded maize bumper harvest for the 2022/2023 agriculture season.

Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Organization Executive Director Boyd Moobwe said it will be tricky to confirm that the country has a bumper harvest because when the farming season began last year, farmers faced a number of challenges in terms of input supply as well as floods and droughts due to climate change.

Mr. Moobwe states that looking at what is happening on the ground, government needs to tell the nation the truth about maize production.

“This question is quite sensitive because we have got two groups of farmers and these are commercial and small scale farmers. Now talking about bumper harvest I think it will be a bit tricky to confirm that we have a bumper harvest because last year when the farming season began, farmers faced a number of challenges in terms of input supply, and also the floods, talking about climate change,” Mr. Moobwe noted.
He however said he may not argue with the government because they have the capacity to do their assessments.
“So to conclude that we have a bumper harvest, well, I can’t argue with government. They have got the capacity, they do their assessments but looking at what is happening on the ground, I think the government needs to tell the nation the truth about maize production.”
“The small scale farmers on the ground whom we are representing have really faced a lot of challenges in terms of production models, floods and in some areas there were droughts. For government to say we have a bumper harvest for me it will be on the left side but I can’t argue so much. Of course we can have a bumper harvest because government institutions like Zambia National Service and commercial farmers I’m sure they have done the best,” he added.
According to Agriculture Minister Reuben Mtolo, Zambia has recorded a maize bumper harvest of over 3.2 million metric tonnes in the 2022/2023 farming season, adding that the total stock of maize available in this marketing season is 3.7 million metric tonnes.
Announcing the Crop Forecast Survey for 2022-2023 Agricultural season, Mr. Mtolo disclosed that the total carryover stock held by farmers, millers, grain traders and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) was 451,000 metric tonnes as of 1st May, 2023,