Focus on Zimbabwe:Once a major producer of grain, the African country is now an importer

摘要

Agriculture is vitally important to Zimbabwe and the country has been a major producer of grains and other farm products in the past. However, economic problems, a land reform program which has caused disruption, and the weather have combined to leavethe country needing to import.The staple crop in Zimbabwe is corn (maize). The International Grains Council (IGC) puts Zimbabwe's 2013-14 corn production at an unchanged 1 million tonnes. Stocks are maintained by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), which was established in 1931 as the Maize Control Board and is a wholly state-owned enterprise with a network of depots.The GMB trades cereals and oilseeds and provides logistics services to the agricultural industry as well as processing. Its objective is to ensure food security.