Online Reporter
Sunday Mail Reporter
THE 50 Grain Marketing Board (GMB) shops established countrywide to sell basic commodities at stable and affordable prices have helped stabilise prices of mealie meal, among other critical goods, despite the country experiencing its worst drought in 43 years.
Drought years are usually associated with high prices of mealie meal and related products.
Commodities sold at the GMB shops include mealie meal, sugar, rice, salt, flour, soap, cooking oil and dried kapenta.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said: “The impact of El Niño is not as drastic as people had expected due to timeous interventions.”
“Mealie meal is available in shops. If you see mealie meal being sold beyond US$7,50 per 10 kilogrammes, please let us know so that we can intervene by sending appropriately priced mealie meal to those areas so that businesses do not profiteer.
“We have 50 shops across the country established by the GMB, where people can buy appropriately priced basics, including roller meal. The roller meal is US$5,30 per 10 kg.”
By the first quarter of next year, he said, the Government will have established shops at 38 additional GMB depots.
Although it was initially estimated that 6,2 million people in rural areas would require assistance, the Government will now feed 9,2 million up to March next year.
“There is enough grain in the strategic grain reserve to feed everyone until March next year. There will also be enough grain to feed 4,5 million learners in basic education schools until April next year, requiring 276 000 tonnes for social welfare school-feeding programmes,” said Dr Masuka.
GMB, he added, was holding 253 000 tonnes out of the planned deployment of 276 000 tonnes.
“So, if you add what we already distributed for November, you can see that we are very comfortably able and we will feed everyone,” he said.
The recent success in the winter wheat season, Dr Masuka said, was in line with efforts to ensure food security was achieved even before 2030.
“While we have set a new record in wheat production by getting 563 961 tonnes, surpassing the previous record of 465 000 tonnes that we achieved last year, we are not celebrating,” he added.
“Our target was to surpass the target of 600 000 tonnes. Targets are to be surpassed. Anything less than that is unacceptable in order to get to Vision 2030.
“So, when we come out of this phase with 98 percent, we say we are very poor. When we get 100 percent, we still say good, but we can do better. What we look for is having people with full stomachs and surplus food in our stocks.”
Dr Masuka said the Government partnered with the private sector through liberalising maize imports.
“We have now issued import permits worth 4,3 million tonnes of maize against our projected shortfall of a million tonnes so that there are more application opportunities created by this measure between demand for import permits and supply,” he said.
