GRAIN RESERVES A GOOD THING TO MAINTAIN

In the leading story on the front page of our Friday edition (December 17, 2021) we reported that “reserves of maize and sorghum held by NFRA climbed to 192,408 tonnes in October, the highest level since December 2015”.

Titled ‘Food stocks rise to new six-month high,’ the report said that this came about after the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) “procured more maize for food security”.

It also cited the central Bank of Tanzania (BoT) as saying in its latest Monthly Economic Review (MER) that the NFRA food reserves of 238,133.6 tonnes in November 2015 suddenly dropped to 180,746.3 tonnes in December the same year.

And, while NFRA planned to purchase 165,000 tonnes of food grains as reserves for the 2021/2022 year, it just as suddenly found itself in possession of the record (?) 192,408 tonnes last October…

This may not be something to write home about – and, still less, shout it from the housetops…

Generally speaking, ‘food reserves’ are defined as a given nation’s stockpile of food in excess of current requirements.

The term is used primarily in relation to measurement of the shortfall or excess of food production by developing nations, whereby it can be a useful, effective tool for farmers and other stakeholders in determining the real situation on the ground.

Food reserves are also useful for emergency use, prices stabilisation, etc.

In the former case, the reserves guarantee ready food availability in emergency situations like extreme weather and similar disasters.

Strategic food reserves benefits

In the prices stabilization stakes, food reserves can be used to protect farmers’ incomes, and mitigate the effects of steep price rises on end-users/consumers.

So, when the NFRA tells Tanzanians that stocks of the food reserves it holds had risen to a new high, this was – on the face of it, anyway – good news indeed.

For starters, in this particular case, the rise in food reserves resulted from the move by the Agency to “keep maize prices in check” by buying the commodity from farmers at the price of Tsh500 a kilo, paid promptly.

This was instead of the measly Sh250 a kilo that was being offered, (sometimes paid late) by buyers in the major maize-producing parts of the country: a price that was already fueling grave concerns among farmers and other interested parties, thus threatening the future of maize farming in the country.

In practice, NFRA would buy lots of maize from maize-surplus regions, and sell same at subsidized prices to vulnerable, maize-starved regions, thus satisfying the needs of both sides, each in its own way.

In a proverbial sense, NFRA kills two birds with the same stone – and, just as soon, recovers the stone for use again later.

But, when all is said and done: effectively practising the strategic food reserves concept does have more benefits than is otherwise the case.

For example, the practice is a functional tool in the areas of prices-cum-markets stabilization; food shortage-related emergencies safety net (climate change adversities and other disasters); potential inputs for processing industries, et cetera, et cetera.

Hence the need for strategic grain reserves worldwide.