The United Nations has said Zimbabwe's maize production has doubled to 1.14 million tons, a figure slightly lower than the government's projection of 1.2 million tons, The Herald reported on Tuesday.

In a joint report released recently, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) forecast an increase of 130 percent on the 2008 maize harvest.

FAO and WFP have attributed the good harvest to improvements in the agriculture sector, good rainfall and the liberal agricultural policies. The two organisations hailed the country's agricultural reforms which include the free movement and buying and selling of grain, removal of import duty and designation of the Grain Marketing Board as a buyer of last resort to maintain a floor price for maize and protect domestic producers.

FAO economist Kisan Gunjal and co-leader of the UN mission to Zimbabwe said the liberalisation of the grain market was the most important change in the improvement of agriculture sector in Zimbabwe.

FAO and WFP provisionally estimated that about 2.8 million people would face food shortages in the 2009/10 marketing year and would require some 228,000 tons of food assistance, including 190,000 tons of cereals. But they said the figures may need to be revised based on the findings of a proposed Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee assessment in August.

The mission urged the international community to help the country in acquiring fertilizer and quality seed for delivery in September 2009, and dipping chemicals for the control of tick-borne livestock diseases.

It also said there was need for the country to invest in sustainable food production, which would require re-establishment of its domestic seed industry, promotion of conservation agriculture, rehabilitation of irrigation facilities, and support to farm mechanisation and agricultural extension.

Zimbabwe's Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Minister Joseph Made has said the increase in grain production would reduce the period over which Zimbabwe would need to import cereals.

Source: Xinhua