News of a bumper harvest could not have come at a better time in Zambia, where rising food and fuel prices have made it more and more difficult for John Banda, a taxi driver in the capital, Lusaka, to provide for himself and his family of four.
The Central Statistical Office said inflation had climbed from 9.8 percent to 10.2 percent, mainly on the back of rising food prices. Earlier in the year the government announced a 15 percent hike in petrol prices, soon after it slapped a 10 percent excise duty on diesel - huge shocks in a country where most people live on less than a dollar a day.
"Life has become tougher since the fuel prices were hiked," Banda told IRIN. Commuters were opting to walk or use buses, because "people just don't have enough money for taxis, so ... we [taxi drivers] take less and less money home," he said.
Ndambo Ndambo, Executive Director of the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU), announced that Zambia expected to harvest over 1.9 million tons of maize, raising cautious optimism.
Harvest prospects remained good despite prolonged dry spells in the middle of the growing season in some areas and excessive rain in others. "We were worried last week that farmers were going to lose their crop when heavy rains fell, but now it looks like the rains have reduced. This means that the crop is safe," Ndambo said in a statement.
Zambia is holding about 360,000 tons of maize, against a national monthly consumption requirement of 60,000 tons, meaning it has enough stocks to last an additional six months.
Based on preliminary assessments, wheat production was also up, with another surplus expected in the 2009/10 farming season. Zambia was looking forward to an excess of 90,000 tons of wheat this year, which "it wants to export", Ndambo said.
The price of unprocessed maize has already started dropping. The Food Security Update for March by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) said, "food security in the country continues to be good in most areas", with some moderately food insecure patches in the south.
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The Central Statistical Office said inflation had climbed from 9.8 percent to 10.2 percent, mainly on the back of rising food prices. Earlier in the year the government announced a 15 percent hike in petrol prices, soon after it slapped a 10 percent excise duty on diesel - huge shocks in a country where most people live on less than a dollar a day.
"Life has become tougher since the fuel prices were hiked," Banda told IRIN. Commuters were opting to walk or use buses, because "people just don't have enough money for taxis, so ... we [taxi drivers] take less and less money home," he said.
Ndambo Ndambo, Executive Director of the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU), announced that Zambia expected to harvest over 1.9 million tons of maize, raising cautious optimism.
Harvest prospects remained good despite prolonged dry spells in the middle of the growing season in some areas and excessive rain in others. "We were worried last week that farmers were going to lose their crop when heavy rains fell, but now it looks like the rains have reduced. This means that the crop is safe," Ndambo said in a statement.
Zambia is holding about 360,000 tons of maize, against a national monthly consumption requirement of 60,000 tons, meaning it has enough stocks to last an additional six months.
Based on preliminary assessments, wheat production was also up, with another surplus expected in the 2009/10 farming season. Zambia was looking forward to an excess of 90,000 tons of wheat this year, which "it wants to export", Ndambo said.
The price of unprocessed maize has already started dropping. The Food Security Update for March by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) said, "food security in the country continues to be good in most areas", with some moderately food insecure patches in the south.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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