MALAWI* (18 October)
Prospects for the 2005/06 rainfall season to begin in October-November in Malawi are generally normal to above rainfall. Field preparation for planting of the main season crops is underway. However, there are reports of the planned distribution of subsidized fertilizer and seeds facing difficulties. The Government had planned to distribute 50 kg of urea fertilizer and 5 kg of improved maize seed to about 1 million smallholder farmers under the UN Millennium Project with funding from the World Bank.
Due to generally low residual soil moisture from the main season, the prospects for the secondary winter crop in 2005 are poor. The official forecast for the winter maize crop is 192 000 tonnes, some 20 percent below last year’s output. Total maize import requirements for the 2005/06 marketing year (April/March) are estimated at 767 000 tonnes, of which about 300 000 tonnes were expected to be covered commercially. From April to September 2005 only 48 000 tonnes were imported mostly through cross-border trade. As of 9 September, WFP had received donor pledges for about 96 000 tonnes as food aid. In addition the Government is distributing, through NGOs, 100 000 tonnes of food from now until December 2005.
On 16 October, a “state of disaster” was declared in Malawi by the President. Food insecurity, especially in the drought affected southern districts, is worsening as maize prices continue to rise. For example, the average price of maize in Liwonde market in the south in September was 22.25 kwacha/kg, about 35 percent higher than the same month last year. Prices are much higher this year compared to last year in all three regions of the country. The main reasons for higher prices in southern Malawi this year compared to last year, besides the fact that maize production was reduced by 26 percent nationally over last year’s poor harvest, are that maize purchases are sourced deeper into northern Mozambique resulting in higher transport costs and fewer traders, and that the uncertainty of Government purchases and subsidized maize distributions has kept traders inactive.
WFP is now planning to feed up to 2.9 million people, while the government and other organizations have committed to feed additional 2.2 million. However, by early October donors had contributed/pledged about US$ 28 million in response to the UN’s US$ 88 million appeal made earlier in August. ADMARC is distributing (rationing) limited quantities of maize (5 to 25 kg/person at a time) at a subsidised price of 17 kwacha/kg against the most common market prices of 25-30 kwacha in the south.