LILONGWE (Commodity Online) : South eastern African nation Malawi said it has achieved surpluses in the production of the staple crop, maize that is good enough to create food security in the country.

However, reports by Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET), and the Food Security Early Warning System of the regional body the Southern African Development Community said surplus production will not prevent at least one million people from being food insecure.

Reacting to these reports, Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika blamed newspapers for reporting ‘false’ accounts and threatened to close down offices.

Reports said the food insecure population in Malawi will increase to 1.1 million by October 2010.

SADC noted in its July 2010 report that the "final crop forecast indicates a 2010 cereal production of 3.57 million tons, which is 7 percent below the 2009 harvest of 3.83 million tons, but still 23 percent higher than the last 5-year average harvest of 2.9 million tons.

The overall surplus is made up of 1.16 million tons of surplus maize and 17,000 tons of surplus sorghum/millet, less deficits in wheat and rice of 38,000 tons and 19,000 tons respectively. This is the fifth year running that the country has had surplus maize," the regional body's report commented.

Malawi's spike in food insecurity from 147,492 people in 2009 to 1.1 million in 2010 is a consequence of "the severe dry spells which affected the highly populated Southern Region of the country," SADC said.

Malawi's annual maize consumption is about 2.2 million tons by a population of roughly 15 million.

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