THE government has a serious task at hand to resolve the food (mealie-meal) crisis which has hit almost all major towns.
For many Zambians, food means having mealie-meal and it is this national staple food, which government has to ensure is available to its population. People are not asking that the mealie-meal be given free to them but that it should be made available and at affordable prices.
The developments leading up to this current mealie-meal crisis can be traced back to the 2021/22 agricultural marketing season when the first delay of inputs distribution manifested.
This was further compounded by a chaotic input procurement and distribution for 2022/23 when things fell apart. Not only were the procurement processes cancelled on more than two occasions but this also ended up in court.
Clearly this did not bode well for agriculture sector and in particular the farming sector dealing in the production maize.
The foundation of any national food security lies in a stable agriculture sector where procurement of inputs and the subsequent distribution are well established and structured. The manifestation of a mealie- meal crisis reflects shambolic systems witnessed in the last few years.
This is also a warning to Government to sharpen its tools and learn to do things better.
We agree with the observations of a civil society organization in Solwezi has that the mealie-meal shortage in the country if not well handled, will result into history repeating itself.
Justice for Just Communities Foundation Executive Director, John Kalusa said this is because indicators are as real as reports of mealie-meal shortage in almost all parts of the country.
Mr Kalusa states that Government should be courageous enough by ensuring that it puts measures in place that will make the country food secure.
“Otherwise, if this situation is left like that and not handled properly, we will have a serious crisis,” Mr Kalusa said.
Mr Kalusa’s comment follows countrywide reports of mealie-meal shortages and increased commodity price.
Like many others, Mr Kalusa has proposed that in order to ensure stability in the supply of mealie-meal on the local market, a ban on exports to neighbouring countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should be put in place.
Apart from banning the export of maize and mealie- meal, there is need to ensure that all porous border crossing points are sealed because smuggling of maize is also rampant.
In the DRC, mealie-meal is fetching prices higher than what is locally obtaining. A 25kg breakfast bag across the Kasumbalesa border goes for nearly K500 while on the Zambian side it is selling at slightly over K200. This is what is spurring smuggling of the commodity into the neighbouring DRC.
Government should therefore seal the illegal border entry points as well as stop the export of both maize and mealie-meal until the local demand is fully met.
For now, there should be more effort to bring in more maize for millers not only to stabilize prices but ensure that people find mealie-meal in shops.
There will be no need for anyone to be queueing to buy mealie-meal if this is made available.
