Confusion over Linturi maize deal as Zambia says not enough grain to meet local demand

Barely a month after Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi announced the government’s deal with Zambia that will see its farmers grow maize exclusively for export to Kenya, Zambia says it is experiencing a shortage and won’t export maize to Kenya.

Zambia’s finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, in an interview published by The East African on Wednesday, said they are seeking to import maize to supplement the low produce recorded last season.

“I think we all know that there has been a shortage of maize, especially in border areas near Tanzania, Congo and Malawi. In the most immediate response, the government decided that we allow importation to supplement whatever we have so that shortages can be alleviated,” Musokotwane said.

He said Zambia’s Treasury has already removed taxes and other fees payable on maize imports so to help moderate the cost of the grain.

“The taxes have been removed, and the private sector is free to import from either South Africa or from anywhere so that the shortages can be alleviated,” the minister added.

CS Linturi and his Zambian counterpart Mtolo Phiri on March 6 announced a deal allowing large-scale farming of maize in Zambia for export to Kenya. Linturi said the cost of production and favourable weather makes growing maize in Zambia cheaper.

But in the Wednesday interview, Musokotwane was non-committal on Linturi’s plan, saying Phiri was yet to fully brief him on the matter.

“That is a bit of information that the Minister for Agriculture in Zambia can handle,” the Zambian finance minister said.

Linturi had also said Zambian agreed to offer Kenyan farmers land for large-scale farming in the Southern African nation. According to the CS, Kenyan farmers were to receive 20,000 hectares of land for to grow maize and sell it to the government. 

“The deal will help us to achieve food security by allowing Kenyan farmers to get permits to practice farming in Zambia and export the food to Kenya,” Linturi said at the time. 

Backlash from farmers

Linturi’s announcement however drew criticism from local farmers who said the timing of maize imports was wrong, coming at a time they – and farmers in neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania – will be harvesting.

The Kenya Farmers Association said the plan would affect prices and maize production from Kenya’s North Rift region, which accounts for a large amount of Kenya’s local maize supply, and called on the government to instead provide farm inputs during the planting season to enable farmers to meet the local maize demand.