Floods have destroyed crops in some parts of southern Zambia and farmers said on January 7 they feared that white maize output might fall, as the government placed nearly half the country on flood alert.
Guy Robinson, president of umbrella farmers group the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU), said heavy rains across Zambia had wiped out some plantings, while some of the crop had lost nutrients due to excessive water and lack of sunshine.
"We are very concerned that the entire crop has been destroyed in some areas due to heavy flooding and it is still raining heavily," Robinson said. He said the most affected area was southern Zambia, one of the country's major farming regions. "The current rain pattern is not good for farming, the crops are suffering due to lack of sunshine and the fertiliser has been washed away. The plants will need a lot of nitrogen to grow."
Robinson said this season's plantings had been expected to raise white maize output above the 1.36 million tonnes harvested in 2007. He said the ZNFU had failed to do a proper assessment of the damage to the crops because most roads were inaccessible, while some culverts leading to farming blocs had been washed away. "As it is still raining, we cannot move to the affected areas to monitor the situation. We will only know the actual damage once the rains reduce, but the preliminary reports we have received indicate there is quite some big damage to the crop."
Drought and lack of farming inputs for farmers shortly after 2000 led to crippling maize shortages in the southern African country. But the country has managed to produce surplus maize over the last three years, boosted by the government's policy to provide subsidized pesticides and seed to farmers.
In a separate statement, the government said it had placed 34 districts on flood alert. The state disaster management unit said it anticipated more flooding in coming weeks and that people would have to be evacuated from their homes.
A senior government official said over a million people would need relief assistance due to damage caused by the floods. "At least 1.5 million will be displaced by the floods and the government and aid groups will have to provide relief food and shelter to the families in tents for some time," the official said.
Reuters