Govt extends maize importation

The Zambian government has extended its commercial maize import programme by three months in a bid to ensure adequate tonnages to feed 1.7 million food insecure people. Harrison Banda, executive director of the Millers Association of Zambia, welcomed the extension of the import programme, originally scheduled to end on 31 December, because it would allow millers enough time to bring in much needed stocks. According to the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU), of the 200,000 mt of duty-free maize the government had allowed millers to import from Africa's largest maize grower, South Africa, only about 7,000 mt had been trucked in by 6 December, leaving a shortfall of about 193,000 mt. ZNFU executive director Songowayo Zyambo attributed the delay to government "red tape", logistical problems and the fact that other countries faced with shortages, such as Zimbabwe and Malawi, had placed orders for maize long before Zambia admitted it had a food problem. President Levy Mwanawasa declared a national food crisis on 21 November and appealed for international assistance. A 15 percent duty on imported maize was also scrapped in a bid to encourage commercial imports. Hoping to speed up the importation process, the government removed a requirement that imported maize be tested for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on 13 December, and asked the Zambia Revenue Authority at border posts to give clearance priority to trucks carrying maize. Although the food crisis has hit rural southern Zambia hard, it has remained unnoticeable in the capital, Lusaka, where fast-food shops are packed with diners and supermarkets are buzzing with big-spending Christmas shoppers.