By Moses Michael-Phiri

BLANTYRE, Malawi 

Malawi is looking to Tanzania and Zambia for the purchase of 70,000 and 30,000 metric tons of maize, respectively, as the country faces the looming specter of hunger.

Currently at loggerheads over ownership of Lake Malawi, relations between Tanzania and Malawi remain frosty.

But with Malawi’s maize production down by more than a quarter this year -- and with 1.5 million Malawians facing the prospect of hunger -- the southern African country appeared to have no choice but to appeal to Tanzania for the vital commodity. 

According to Wilfred Lipita, controller of agricultural services at Malawi’s Agriculture Ministry, the purchase of home-grown maize could affect grain prices.

"If we buy locally, prices might jump because some traders could take advantage of the situation by engaging in speculation," he told Anadolu Agency, noting that grain prices in Tanzania and Zambia were slightly lower than those currently found in Malawi.

Lipita confirmed that the Tanzanian government had since agreed to sell Malawi 70,000 metric tons of maize.

"But Malawi hopes to eventually source at least 100,000 metric tons from Tanzania," he said.

Malawi’s chronic food shortage worsened in January when flooding killed 176 people and decimated thousands of hectares of the staple crop.

According to a May report by the Agriculture Ministry, Malawi’s maize production fell by 27.7 percent -- from 3.9 million to 2.9 million metric tons -- during the 2014/15 fiscal year.

Malawi has seen a fall in production of other staple food crops as well, including rice, cassava and sorghum. Other crops, however, including sweet and Irish potatoes, have seen a rise in production over the same period.

- Averting hunger

While unveiling the 2015/16 state budget in May, Malawian Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe told the parliament that he planned to set aside $47 million for the purchase of maize from both domestic and foreign sellers. 

He said $18 million of this would be spent this month alone, while the remainder would be spent in July, with prospective sellers including Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, maize prices have been going up due to rising demand and reported hoarding by vendors.

Random checks by Anadolu Agency in the markets of Blantyre revealed that maize prices had recently risen from about 90 to 100 Malawi kwacha per kilogram (from roughly $0.20 to $0.23).

According to Lipita, maize purchased from Tanzania and Zambia will be made available to Malawian citizens, while some will go into the country’s strategic grain reserve, which currently contains only 50,000 metric tons of the commodity.

“We don't want to be in a situation where we have no maize in the event of a hunger crisis, like what happened last year,” the official said.

Malawi, he added, is also currently in talks with Zambia for the purchase of 30,000 metric tons of maize.

Grace Mhango, president of Malawi’s Grain Traders Association, for her part, faulted the government for importing maize instead of asking private traders to supply it.

“Local traders can purchase the maize and supply it to the government,” Mhango told Anadolu Agency. “By importing, the government will end up paying high landing costs compared to local sourcing.”