Severe drought has robbed Zimbabwe of nearly its entire maize crop

Maize production in Zimbabwe will fall by three quarters, as the African country is now experiencing a severe drought. This is reported by Bloomberg.

The agency estimates that 634,699 tons of grain will be produced this season, 72 percent less than last year. “Statistically, the start of the summer season was the latest and driest in 40 years,” the local government said in a report. Farmers planted 1.78 million hectares this season, 7 percent less than planned and 12 percent less than last year.

The cause of the drought has been attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon. Zimbabwean grain producers plan to import at least 1.4 million tons of maize by July to address the shortage. Zimbabwe consumes 2.2 million tons of maize annually, of which 1.8 million tons are used for food and 400,000 tons for livestock feed.

Tags: drought, Zimbabwe, crop forecast, corn