The World Bank has warned that Malawi remains susceptible to having an acute food shortage in the short to medium terms unless necessary interventions are deployed by authorities.
The Bretton Woods institution says this in its July Food Security Update, which adds that Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are expected to persist across areas in the grand south of Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique that Tropical Cyclone Freddy affected.
The report adds that although staple food prices have declined in most markets since the main harvest, prices remain higher than last year and the five-year average.
“In areas with below-average production, prices are likely to rise in August and September, earlier than normal, as more households increase their reliance on market purchases and food stocks decline,” the report reads.
Meanwhile, the government has lessened requirements for maize imports to manage supply.
In a letter to Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), Ministry of Trade and Industry Principal Secretary Christina Zakeyo says the ministry has relaxed import procedures for maize in order to support food security initiatives in the country.
“I would like to request the Malawi Revenue Authority to facilitate clearance for maize importation with no requirement for an import licence from the ministry. However, importers will be required to follow sanitary requirements on importation,” the letter reads.
Meanwhile, Civil Society Agriculture Coalition Network has warned the government that if no serious measures are taken, the country will go into a food crisis before the lean period.
According to a press statement from the organisation, the recent development will put more pressure on the country’s already weakened food systems and value chains and, consequently, this may drive Malawi on the brink of arguably the worst food crisis in recent times.
“We join those who have, before us, called on the government to issue an order to have all Admarc depots open to sell out the staple grain as a matter of urgency,” reads the statement.
Maize remains Malawi’s staple grain but its production for the 2022-23 farming season has been thrown into jeopardy amid rising fertiliser prices and disasters such as Cyclone Freddy.
