Transporters can expect massive food volumes to Swaziland

MBABANE – At least
70 000 metric tonnes of maize
will be transported from
South Africa to food-insecure
Swaziland this year, agriculture
officials tell FTW.
“The national requirement
is about 140 000 metric tones
annually. Last year’s harvest was
71 000 metric tonnes. We don’t
foresee a production increase this
year, so the shortfall will come from
South Africa, either maize produced
there or through South Africa as
a transhipment route for food aid
originating overseas,” said Sipho
Simelane, chief agricultural officer
for the Ministry of Agriculture.
The problem isn’t a lack of
rainfall – in fact too much rain in
November swamped many fields –
but impoverished farmers’ inability
to purchase inputs like seeds and
fertiliser. Government’s scheme to
provide inputs has been sidelined by
a budgetary crisis.