President Lazarus Chakwera Tuesday met World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Director for Southern Africa Menghestab Haile at the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), Capital Hill, in Lilongwe City.
Haile’s meeting with Chakwera comes at a time 4.4 million Malawians are said to be facing hunger during the lean season.
Speaking to The Daily Times after the meeting, Haile said they discussed the issue of food security and how Malawi can transform agriculture to attract young people, among other things.
“It was a great meeting with the President. We discussed the issue of food security. We discussed the issue of climate change. We discussed the issue of action the region can take to delivery of the 30,000mt of maize in Malawi.
He said the first batch of 10 000mt was expected to arrive in the country during the first week of January.
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However, the deadline has been missed.
In the latest case, Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs Charles Kalemba has told The Daily Times that the issue is now water under the bridge.
“The matter has been resolved. Malawi will get maize flour, and not maize [grain], from Tanzania and South Africa,” Kalemba said.
He said this on the sidelines of the meeting between President Lazarus Chakwera and WFP Regional Director for Southern Africa Menghestab Haile Tuesday.
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The two met at the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), Capital Hill, in Lilongwe City.
Recent media reports indicated that there were concerns over the decision to import maize from Tanzania due to reported cases of a devastating disease called Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN), which has been recorded in Tanzania and Kenya.
And Kalemba said the reason the maize will have to be milled into flour is to avoid just that: transmission of MNL.
MLN poses a severe threat to maize production as plants with the disease are often barren and the ears formed are small, with no or a few deformed seeds.
In worst cases, the disease can cause 100 percent yield loss.
Late last week, about 40 tonnes of maize which Tanzanian trader Josophat Chingula imported into Malawi were held at Nkhata Bay jetty.
The commodity was imported by boat through Lake Malawi.
Northern Region Senior Deputy Director of Agriculture and Research Services Tony Maulana said the move is aimed at protecting the country from MLN.
“This consignment came through the jetty by boat from Tanzania and we told them that it cannot be sold as grain because people might be tempted to plant it, in the process spreading the disease.
“Although we have not done laboratory tests, Tanzania announced that they have the disease in their country and this is a protective measure,” Maulana said.
He said those who are in custody of the commodity had been advised against moving any maize from the jetty warehouse to Blantyre, where it was destined, or any district as anything can happen during transportation process.
“We have, however, ordered them to mill the maize into flour or grit right here in Nkhata Bay so that it is not used as seed anywhere in Malawi,” he added.
Weighing in, Principal Secretary for Agriculture Dixie Kampani said what happened in Nkhata Bay should serve as a reminder to people that the ban is still intact.
Kampani advised traders to abide by the Ministry of Agriculture’s directive or face inconveniences.
Speaking in a separate interview, Chingula, who comes from Mbeya in Tanzania, said he was not aware of the ban on the importation of maize from his country.
He said he is being charged K2,400 per tonne for storage each day and that he is going to spend a lot more money on milling the grain into flour before transporting it to Blantyre, where his customers are.
“I thought that this ban was only effective on yellow maize grain. But since government has ordered us to mill the maize into flour or grit, we will abide by the order. We are, right now, in the process of purchasing sacks to pack the maize flour in.
“However, I must admit that I have made losses with this consignment because I am spending a lot of money,” Chingula said.
A Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee report indicates that up to 4.4 million Malawians risk facing hunger during the lean season, which is underway, prompting the government, through Dodma, to start distributing relief food to affected people.
