The second crop and livestock assessment report by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement says more than one million tonnes of grain are expected during the 2019/20 summer cropping season with maize production estimated to increase by 17 percent.
The estimated 1 060 142 tonnes of grain expected this season are not enough for human and livestock consumption as the country requires 1.7 million tonnes for human consumption and 450 000 tonnes for livestock.
From the 2019/20 season, farmers are expected to harvest about 907 628 tonnes of maize, 103 684 tonnes of sorghum, 39 032 tonnes of pearl millet and 9 799 tonnes of finger millet.
The report indicates that sorghum production is expected to increase by 158 percent from the 40 215 tonnes last season to 103 684 this season, pearl millet is expected to increase by 39 percent from the 28 047 percent last season to 39 032 tonnes, while an increase of 41 percent is expected in finger millet production.
Traditional grains production for the 2019/2020 season is estimated at 152 515 tonnes, which is 103 percent more compared to 75 209 tonnes in 2018/2019.
