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.