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Photo credits: FAO
A maize farmer and her children in Lesotho.
Southern Africa’s maize production expected to drop sharply, raising food security concerns
Production could fall 26% from 2014’s bumper crop, pushing up prices and increasing import demand
Maize production in Southern Africa is expected to drop by about 26 percent this year compared with the bumper harvest in 2014, FAO warned today, which could trigger food price increases and negatively affect recent food security gains.
Early forecasts for 2015 production of maize, the main staple food crop in the subregion, put it at about 21.1 million tonnes, about 15 percent below the average of the past five years. FAO pointed out.
The decline was mainly due to erratic weather conditions, including a late start of seasonal rains in November/December, followed by heavy rainfall that led to flooding in parts of several countries, and a prolonged dry spell in the southern parts of the subregion in February and early March.
Read the full article: FAO
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