K150 billion needed to procure maize for hunger affected households

The National Food Balance Sheet shows the country has a total supply of 1.9 million metric tonnes of maize with the total maize requirement from July 2024 to March 2025 projected at 2.7 million metric tones.

According to Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale, the country needs K150 billion to procure maize for hunger stricken household this lean season.

protected by reCAPTCHA

He disclosed this when he presented a Ministerial statement in Parliament on Tuesday.

Through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), people have been put in different categories according to their level of vulnerability whereby they will receive maize for three months while others will get food aid for 6 months starting this October.

The objective is to ensure that remote villages get food assistance particularly to those genuinely in need of food aid so that nobody dies of hunger this year

The 2023-24 rainfall season was characterized by El-Nino weather patterns which led to late rains and prolonged dry spells especially in the central and southern regions

The Minister earlier acknowledged that some undeserving people are still benefiting from the lean season food insecurity response programme.

Some legislators called on the need for a good working partnership with all stakeholders such as Ministry of Agriculture, DoDMA, council officials and Parliamentarians in order to detect and flush out those undeserving from receiving the food assistance.