By Phephile Motau
Unfavourable weather patterns experienced in the last farming season which ravaged maize crops countrywide have resulted in the government and farmers alike not realising the full return on investment of the over E90 million pumped into the farm subsidy programme aimed at bolstering maize production to meet national demand.
The bad weather conditions comprising heavy rains, hailstorms and intense dry spells taking place at the critical stages resulted in the country recording the lowest-ever harvest in five years. According to the Director of Agriculture, Nelson Mavuso, preliminary findings of their assessment indicated that the country has recorded about 85 000 tons, the lowest since 2019. Again, this is a far cry from the country’s national demand of 140 000 tons.
In 2019, the country recorded about 95 000 tons, harvested 89 715 in 2020, recorded 102 709 in 2021 and 127 000 tons in 2022. At about 85 000 tons, this means that the maize harvest will be down by about 42 000 metric tonnes and the country will have a shortfall of 55 000 metric tonnes, which the country will have to import.
Last year’s yield increased by 24 000 metric tonnes from the 2020/2021 season’s 103 000 metric tonnes, which reduced the amount of imported maize.
Only 13 000 metric tonnes which was the shortfall was acquired through importation from neighbouring countries. This is despite the government’s efforts to alleviate the impact of the Ukraine/ Russia conflict which caused an increase in the prices of farm inputs and diesel, which are mainly used during the farming season.
After observing the escalation of farm inputs which was induced by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the government trebled the amount of the input subsidy programme from E30 million to E90 million last year to make the country self-sustainable when it comes to its staple food, maize.
READ MORE: E44 million Commercial Maize Revolving Fund launched
The cost for last year’s packages was approximately E14 000 for maize, E12 000 for beans and E7 000 for sorghum for an area equivalent to one hectare. The farmer was expected to contribute 35 per cent and the government contributed the balance of 65 per cent as compared to 50/50 the previous years. He also said farmers could pay up to three hectares maximum compared to the one-hectare maximum that was used in the past years.
Through the input subsidy scheme, farmers are assisted with fertiliser, seeds and agrochemicals. Mavuso, during an interview with the Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services (EBIS), attributed the drastic decline of maize yield to late rainfall during the last farming season. He said when the rains came, they became too much, which has affected the harvest expected this year.
He added that a heatwave experienced in December added to the farmers’ woes as maize which was at the critical point during the emergence of maize tassels (kushakata), was damaged further. Mavuso said the country also faced hailstorms, particularly in the Manzini region, which also destroyed more maize fields.
Mavuso explained that the Manzini region was the food basket of the country, and it was unfortunate that several hailstorms were reported during the farming season.
The director said this was even though the government had tripled the amount of money set aside for farm inputs, to alleviate the effects of the Ukraine/Russia conflict on farming inputs. He said he could not attribute the shortfall to these effects as all the farmers who paid for the input subsidy programme received them.
The prices were such that farmers would pay E4 900 for maize and the government E9 100, bringing the total cost for maize inputs to the government to over E90 million.
READ MORE: Eswatini recorded a 27% increase in maize production in 2022
The government received assistance from the Emergency Food Production Program from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to scale up this programme.
The AfDB approved an emergency food crisis loan for Eswatini worth about E640 million, part of which was meant for the input subsidy programme.
The loan was part of the E25 billion set aside by the organisation to avert food shortages and contain the spiralling prices in the Emergency Food Production Program.
The program was designed as a single-tranche crisis response budget support targeting the agriculture sector for the financial year 2022/23.
According to the appraisal report by the AfDB, when requesting the loan, the Minister of Finance Neil Rijkenberg in a letter dated May 4, 2023, said the Russia-Ukraine crises had brought three types of crises to the Eswatini economy and these included the food supply crisis, fuel price hike crises and increase in prices for basic food commodities (wheat).
Meanwhile, the director pled with farmers to be extra careful in the storage and handling of their yield to prevent further losses. He said the post-harvest loss is usually 30 per cent of the total yield, which is too much.
He said they should ensure that their storage areas are kept safe to also avoid theft of maize, which is usually prevalent at this time of the year. Mavuso also revealed that the yield of beans was also forecasted to be low by 1 000 hectares.
He said the average yield is 3 000 hectares and this year, their forecast showed that they would get only 2 000 hectares. He also blamed this on the changing weather patterns and said they were expecting all crops to be affected as they all depend on rain and sunshine.
READ MORE: Food security is threatened as maize meal prices remain high
Mavuso also said they were hoping for better yields during the approaching farming season. However, weather experts are warning that the El Nino phenomenon has begun in the Pacific Ocean, likely adding heat to a planet already warming under climate change.
According to the BBC, US scientists confirmed that El Niño had started. Experts say it will likely make 2024 the world’s hottest year. They fear it will help push the world past a key 1.5C warming milestone. In Southern Africa, including Eswatini, El Nino is associated with increased temperatures and low rainfall.
The last El Nino event which affected Eswatini was in 2015/2016 when the country experienced a severe El Niño-induced drought. A study conducted by the Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC) estimated that the drought cost the economy of Swaziland E3.843 billion which was equivalent to 7.01 per cent of Swaziland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016 or 18.58 per cent of government expenditure in 2016.
