Maize a barometer for agri output

Maize is essential for Southern Africa's food security. Its widespread production across this region is somewhat of a barometer of the status of the agricultural output.

- 

Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), writes the past 2023-24 maize production season was challenging following a mid-summer drought that led to poor harvest across the region.

Zambia lost half of its maize crop, Zimbabwe lost nearly two-thirds of its maize, and other countries such as Malawi and Lesotho experienced significant losses.

South Africa was a slight exception because the impact was less severe than the region. The country's maize harvest fell by 23% to 12,7 million tonnes. The differences in seed cultivars and fertilizer usage partly explain the mild crop losses compared with the wider Southern Africa region. The harvest of 12,70 million tonnes is slightly above South Africa's annual maize consumption of 11,80 million tonnes.