(Ecofin Agency) - Malawi will be driven to take drastic measures to avoid suffering famine as it is currently stricken by drought. In fact, due to drought, the country which used to export grains is now forced to import a million ton of maize (ten times more than usual) to satisfy local demand.

In the country, the recent harvest represents 40% of the previous one. It thus has to turn to the international market in a context where South Africa (main producer in the region) also, due to a substantial deficit, had to loosen its restrictions. So, Malawi which had prohibited the import of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) could revise this decision in order to feed its population, 17 million people.

However, international markets can only provide yellow maize which is usually used in South Africa to feed livestock rather than humans. Truth is that outside the region, few are the countries that produce white maize which is consumed in Malawi. Due to the new situation, Malawi will be competing with South Africa which wishes to get 1.2 million tons of maize for its local demand.

Even if Lilongwe was able to get a solution from international markets, it would still have to overcome logistic-related challenges. Truly, being a secluded country, Malawi depends on its neighbors, Mozambique mostly, who have access to sea, for its imports. However, experts today are concerned about the capacities of the Nacala and Beira ports to transit more than a million tons of maize without trouble. “Mozambique’s logistics are OK in the north, and the region produces maize too. But as Malawi does not usually import large volumes via this route, capacity constraints could slow the flow,” said Edward George, head of soft commodities research at Ecobank.

Aaron Akinocho