Floods trim Malawi’s maize

BLANTYRE – Both floods and patchy dry spells will reduce Malawi’s forecast 2006 maize output slightly by 50 000 tonnes, but a surplus will still be attained, the government said in a final crop estimate.

The estimate, released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security at the weekend, indicates that the poor southern African state will harvest 2,35 million tonnes of the staple grain, down from 2,4 million tonnes as forecast in March. The estimated harvest represents a surplus of 350 000 tonnes compared to Malawi’s national requirement of around two million tonnes.The forecast also represents a huge increase compared to last year, when the country suffered its worst maize harvest since 1992, producing around 1,25 million tonnes.”The drop is mainly due to floods and excessive rains, but there is no need to panic because we are still within a surplus range,” Patrick Kabambe, principal secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, told Reuters.According to a World Food Programme report, the dry spell hit nine districts in the country while the floods devastated six districts.- Nampa-ReutersThe estimated harvest represents a surplus of 350 000 tonnes compared to Malawi’s national requirement of around two million tonnes.The forecast also represents a huge increase compared to last year, when the country suffered its worst maize harvest since 1992, producing around 1,25 million tonnes.”The drop is mainly due to floods and excessive rains, but there is no need to panic because we are still within a surplus range,” Patrick Kabambe, principal secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, told Reuters.According to a World Food Programme report, the dry spell hit nine districts in the country while the floods devastated six districts.- Nampa-Reuters