Good maize crop forecast

Malawi is expecting an improved crop of its staple maize this season following good rains, a WFP official told IRIN on Friday. According to initial crop estimates, Malawi is forecast to harvest 2.3 million mt of maize this year up from 1.8 million mt last season. The WFP official said the actual harvest is likely to be slightly less due to flooding in several districts earlier this year, but Malawi is set for a maize surplus. Annual domestic needs are estimated at 1.9 million mt. Good rains and a starter pack programme distributing free seeds and fertilizer to some two million small-holder farmers have been behind the rise in production, the official added. The vast majority of Malawians earn their main income from subsistence farming. WFP estimates that 60 percent of the rural population, farming tiny plots, are unable to meet their basic daily nutritional requirements. Many of the poorest derive the largest portion of their livelihoods from off-farm income-generating activities. Liberalisation of the agricultural sector by the government has meant the removal of fertilizer subsidies forcing up the price of inputs. "Poor soil due to continuous cropping means that farmers can't produce without fertilizer," the WFP official said.