ZAMBIA: Agri-subsidies boost production

Photo: USAID

Govt intends to continue subsidising small-scale farmers

JOHANNESBURG, 29 July 2004 (IRIN) - Zambia is once again in a position to export food to its neighbours, Deputy Agriculture Minister Chance Kabaghe told IRIN on Thursday. Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are set to receive Zambian maize as the country cements its agricultural recovery. "We've had so many problems in the past, but it's really turned around these past two years and we are now able to feed our neighbours, whereas we were once really a food-deficit country," Kabaghe said. After a failed harvest in 2002 that left an estimated 2.3 million in need of food aid, Zambian agriculture has bounced back. "We have allowed for exports of up to 120,000 mt [of the staple maize] for the current season, although we may increase exports depending on the final crop forecast report. We know that [production was boosted by] the fertiliser and seeds distributed throughout the country and the kind of rainfall we received, as the amount of rain and manner in which it was spread throughout the [growing] season was very good. So we expect [crop production] to be about the same or slightly more than last year," Kabaghe told IRIN. He added that "quite a few traders" had already applied for export permits. Last year Zambia produced 1.2 million mt of maize, as well as having 100,000 mt of carryover stock. Consequently, it had more than enough to meet domestic consumption requirements of under 1.2 million mt and could export the surplus to neighbours. The government has subsidised agricultural inputs for small-scale farmers and intends to continue doing so next year, given the resultant increase in crop yield. "We subsidised up to 50 percent of agricultural inputs. The requirement per hectare is eight bags [of inputs], so the farmer paid for four and we paid for another four bags of fertiliser and feed [for animals], as well as seeds," Kabaghe said. Agricultural subsidies have become a contentious issue between developing and developed nations. Structural adjustment programmes imposed on developing nations forced the scrapping of agricultural subsidies, which critics argue contributed to food shortages in the region, while developed nations continue to subsidise their farmers. Kabaghe noted that "the World Bank and IMF [International Monetary Fund] have been very understanding, as we used to have a lot of problems before [with food shortages], so I think they have seen that not all subsidies are destructive - these are production-oriented subsidies". Local production deficits in recent years meant that Zambia had to import maize "at a heavy cost, so now we've had no problems with the IMF and World Bank" regarding the subsidies to small-scale farmers, Kabaghe said. "We are dealing with really vulnerable groups - we are not talking about [subsidising] big commercial farmers who have access to bank loans - ... because if we don't do it [provide subsidies] then we will have to give them food aid, which is much more costly and degrading." Kabaghe added that Zambian farmers "do not want to be given food [aid], they want to produce - all we are doing is facilitating them to produce and, once they reach a sustainable level, then we will not have to subsidise them. Last year we helped 150,000 small-scale farmers, and we intend to do the same this year and next year, and then re-examine the strategy." Despite the good harvest prospects overall, there are still pockets of food insecurity in Zambia. "In the western parts along the Zambezi river farmers lost crops [in the recent floods] ... but we have more than enough, so we don't have to import - all we have to do is organise internal redistribution". The government will buy maize from food-surplus areas through the national disaster management unit, to distribute in food-deficit areas. "The only [external] assistance we will probably need is with transportation," said Kabaghe. Efforts to promote crop diversification and conservation farming were also bearing fruit. "We have seen a lot of crop diversification - people are moving into high-value crops like tobacco, cotton, wheat and soya, which is good for the country. We are encouraging farmers to grow crops that are profitable," he explained. "We are especially encouraging small-scale farmers to look at agriculture as a business. I was in Eastern province last week, where there are small-scale farmers that are moving away from maize into high-value crops that [yield] much more money per hectare. In two of the biggest districts there has been a reduction in maize production, but an increase in tobacco, cotton, paprika and groundnuts," he added. As a result, small-scale farmers were much less vulnerable than before and were now able to earn enough to purchase basic household items, as well as "buy products that make life easier - I was amazed to see so many new bicycles," Kabaghe commented.