Govt Says Zim Has Enough Maize For 7 Months
Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister, Vangelis Haritatos has revealed that the country has half a million tonnes of maize in its strategic grain reserves.
He said that there is no immediate threat of hunger as the grain is enough to feed the country for the next seven months.
In an interview with Sunday News in Bulawayo on Thursday, Haritatos said:
We have more than 500 000 metric tonnes of maize still in stock. Our estimates are that we have between six to seven months of food including the strategic reserves without the new crop which is expected to come in at the end of April or early May.
We consume approximately 120 000 metric tonnes of maize per month. So for now importing maize is out of the question.
For the past two seasons, Zimbabwe has not imported any major grains such as maize. The nation is comfortable since the grain we have is enough to see us through the next seven months. This means the supply of the staple diet in the country is out of danger for the next coming months.
