bumper harvests, rockbottom prices

The Daily Times, 22 July 2009, reports:

Ministry of Agriculture says this year’s maize harvest shot to 3.7 million metric tonnes up from about 1.3 million metric tonnes achieved in the 2004 growing season.

During morning hours, eager-faced farmers are seen pushing their produce on bicycles to sell at the markets of Nkando, Phalombe and Mulanje boma. Hours later, at the fall of dusk, they are seen face down returning home with similar loads.

At Nkando market, a trader buying pigeon peas and maize, Kambewa Matemba tells a story of frustrated farmers who see no sense selling their harvest at the local produce markets. The prices, he says, are too low to attract farmers... When they sell, it is not out of joy, rather because they have no choice...

Malawi has attained food self-sufficiency because government has invested in increasing agricultural productivity which is in line with the need to reduce rural poverty... But now, since food security has been achieved, there is need for vigilance to identify more markets for surplus grain harvests which continue to be achieved.

Read the full article (it will give you a good feel for African reporting too;)