Commissioner for Department of Disaster Management Affairs Charles Kalemba disclosed this on Monday in Lilongwe when speaking on the sidelines of President Lazarus Chakwera’s meeting with the World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Director for the Southern Africa Bureau.
Kalemba’s remarks cleared the controversy caused by Malawi’s suspension of maize import from Tanzania and Kenya over “devastating” Maize Lethal Necrosis. This disease researchers in Malawi said could completely wipe out the staple crop if unchecked.
Recently, Malawian media reports indicated that the World Bank had committed 20 Million U.S. dollars to purchase maize from Tanzania to support the needy Malawians, but the reports said the World Bank was stuck with the importation ban.
But Kalemba said it had been resolved that Malawi should import maize flour from Tanzania and not the staple food in its grain form.
He said the Malawi government is working with WFP and the World Bank to have the maize flour imported into Malawi by the weekend.
“We are getting maize flour from Tanzania and South Africa. The Ministry of Agriculture did not say we cannot get maize from Tanzania. The issue is about full-grain maize that can be planted. But getting maize for food in the form of flour is okay,” Kalemba said.
Food insecurity in Malawi has escalated with the fall of the country’s currency, the Kwacha, by 44 percent in early November. A 50-kg bag of maize, which was at 12,000 Malawian Kwacha (about 7.13 U.S. dollars) this time last year, is now between 50,000 and 60,000 Malawian Kwacha (about 29.71 and 35.66 U.S. dollars).
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