SWAZILAND* (6 June)
According to the recent FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment the 2004/05 production of Swaziland’s staple food crop, maize, is likely to be about 82 000 tonnes, 10 percent higher than last year’s official post-harvest estimate and 6 percent below the average of the previous five years. The improved performance was due to favourable rainfall and increased use of chemical fertilizers combined with farmyard manure in the Highveld and Middleveld. The Lowveld and parts of Lubombo suffered serious crop failure due to poor rainfall. The observed longer term decline in maize production in Swaziland needs to be investigated.
Cereal import requirements for 2005/06 marketing year (April/March) are estimated at 111 000 tonnes, of which 70 000 tonnes are expected to be imported commercially. With about 6 000 tonnes of food aid in stock and pipeline at the beginning of the marketing year, there remains an uncovered deficit of 35 000 tonnes which needs to be met by additional international assistance.
Access to food for poor households remains a serious problem in Swaziland. Available data indicate that per capita consumption of maize has been declining over time without significant cross-substitution with other foods. There is an urgent need to examine the country’s existing pricing and marketing policies for maize. Currently the National Milling Corporation (NMC), a parastatal company, is the sole authorized importer of maize. Given the oligopolistic nature of the milling industry, maize meal prices tend to be too high for poor households limiting their access to adequate supplies. In early May the CFSAM observed that the average price paid by consumers was four times the price charged to millers by NMC for grain.