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Namibian maize producers have joined their counterparts in South Africa for an annual conference to discuss solutions to the ongoing maize shortage.
According to The Namibian, the Grain South Africa conference was held in Bothaville recently, where issues pertaining to maize production, specifically white maize, were discussed and shared.
Christof Brock, CEO of the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) and leader of the Namibian delegation, reiterated his country’s confidence in its maize supply, saying that enough maize would be supplied to the southern African country, with added assistance from South Africa.
“With these options open to the milling fraternity, there is a guarantee that there will be white maize on the shelves for end consumers to purchase in Namibia. There are not many countries in Africa where the consistent and constant supply of maize meal can be guaranteed,” NewsGhana quoted Brock as saying.
According to reports issued by the Namibian Agronomic Board in January, only 32 000 tons of irrigation maize were produced in Namibia, while 120 000 tons of maize were imported to fill the shortfall caused by sporadic rainfall.
Although Brock assured Namibian citizens that maize would be made steadily available within the local market, he also warned of soaring maize prices, due to expenses caused by importing the product.
Southern Africa is currently experiencing a severe drought, exacerbated by an ongoing El Nino weather pattern, which is crippling the agricultural sector in the region and causing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to declare a regional disaster.
