Revised pricing, marketing policies could ease food insecurity

With almost 250,000 Swazis facing food shortages, agricultural experts are calling for urgent reform of the country's maize pricing and marketing policies. A recent crop assessment by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) found that although maize production during the 2004/05 growing season was about 10 percent higher than last year's official post-harvest figure, it was still six percent below the average of the previous five years. The WFP/FAO report warned that "from a longer-term perspective, maize production in Swaziland appears to be on the decline". Recurring drought and the impact of HIV/AIDS had contributed to the downward trend, but the report concluded that the maize pricing policy was worsening the situation. The National Milling Coorporation (NMC), a parastatal company and the sole authorised importer of maize, sells the imported maize to millers, who then determine the consumer price of maize meal, the country's staple food. "Milling prices tend to be too high for poor households, which therefore have difficulties accessing adequate supplies," the report observed. At the time of the assessment, the average retail price was four times more than millers paid the NMC for grain. "The whole marketing and pricing policy for maize in Swaziland needs to be thoroughly reviewed and rationalised to make it more efficient for the benefit of all, particularly the poor," the assessment team remarked. Another major constraint to maize production was financing: low producer prices meant farmers were reluctant to send their produce to market, choosing instead to retain it for own consumption. The overall cereal import requirement for the 2005/06 marketing year (April to March) was estimated at 110,600 mt, of which 69,700 mt would have to purchased; with about 6,200 mt of food aid in stock, an uncovered deficit of 34,700 mt would need to be met by additional international assistance as a result of this season's bad harvest. Food shortages are expected to affect around 226,640 people for 4 to 7 months during the 2005/06 marketing year, while another large segment of the population could suffer shortages for a shorter period. The report recommended that food assistance target vulnerable groups and areas with the greatest food insecurity; direct food transfers to patients receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and their families be ensured; and WFP's distribution of nutritional supplements be extended to the six clinics providing ARVs.