.Simuusa

By JAMES KUNDA –

THE Government has said the country expects to record a wheat production deficit of 72,000 tonnes this year, while the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) says there will be a surplus of 91,000 tonnes of the raw material for bread.
Agriculture Minister Wylbur Simuusa said in an interview yesterday that wheat production would fall by 26.35 per cent to 201,504 tonnes this year from 273, 584 tonnes in 2013, while ZNFU media liaison officer Kingsley Kaswende said separately that there would be a surplus.
Mr Simuusa said the wheat that will be harvested this year is below the national requirement and Government was pondering importing the commodity from South Africa which was the only country in the region that matches Zambia’s wheat production capacity.
“Due to poor rainfall and low filling of dams, the country is expected to record a deficit in wheat production this year as compared to last year and that is why some quantities of the commodity will have to be imported from South Africa,” Mr Simuusa said.
The minister said Government would, however, apply the necessary measures to ensure that the country maximised its full potential to grow wheat and be the major supplier of the commodity to neighbouring countries.
But Mr Kaswende said the wheat stakeholders, at a meeting held in November last year, were in agreement that the country had a production surplus of over 91,500 tonnes as the country had a record production of 314,463 tonnes of the grain in 2013.
“However, only a few parts of the district experienced low filling of dams and it would be very premature for the nation to go on red alert and subsequently remove controls on wheat importation,” he said.
Mr Kaswende said the crop forecast survey by Government was conducted in February and hence the wheat estimates captured were based merely on perception since the wheat planting season is between April and June.
“More reliable estimates on production can thus only be captured after June. In order to get accurate estimates, ZNFU has engaged an Argentine company to estimate Zambia’s wheat production through satellite imagery and the results will be ready by October 2014,” he said.
Mr Kaswende said it would, therefore, be judicious to wait for confirmed estimates of the 2014 wheat output before making any alterations to the current policy environment governing the marketing of wheat.
Mr Kaswende said wheat imports would also put pressure on the Kwacha and exacerbate its depreciation.
“Therefore, should the wheat farmers be discouraged from further production, rebuilding the sector may take very long. This would make Zambia vulnerable to the shocks that the international wheat markets may encounter,” Mr Kaswende said.