Lower harvests of maize, wheat and sugarcane as a result of severe weather in the region are pushing up prices for Zambia's staple foods .
The Zambia National Farmers Union said erratic weather including late rains at the start of the season, drought in many areas and heavy flooding in some parts have all hit food production.
"Most of the farm inputs [such as seeds and chemicals] in this country are imported. That, combined with drought conditions, is pushing the cost of staples high," said Kingsley Kaswende, a researcher for the union.
Shifting weather patterns and changing rainfall mean farmers are struggling to keep production high. Most will have to change their farming patterns "to move with the shift", he said.
In April, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated that Southern Africa's maize harvest for the 2015/16 season will be 15% lower than the average for the past five years.
The average harvest per hectare for maize has fallen by 26% since last year, ministry figures show.
In April, Zambia's government imposed a ban on the export of maize and maize products to similarly drought-hit neighbouring countries including Malawi and Zimbabwe.
The country's stores of wheat are likely to be 59000 metric tons short of demand before the next harvest, according to the Millers Association of Zambia.
Sugar production similarly has declined from 424 000 tons last year to 380 000 this year. "Partial drought and low water levels of the Kafue River resulted in less water available to irrigate sugarcane estates," said Gavin Dalgleish, managing director of the Illovo Group, which owns Zambia Sugar.
Zambia's Central Statistical Office said inflation in August was running at nearly 20%, in part as a result of higher food prices.
A 25kg bag of mealie meal, which cost R69.30 in February is now selling for as much as R166.40.
The Zambian office of the Consumer Unity and Trust Society, an international consumer advocacy group, has called for the government to tackle high food prices by lowering import tariffs on fertiliser and seeds as well as reducing taxes on most cereal crop products.
A more permanent solution to worsening extreme weather - particularly drought - may lie in shifting away from maize and wheat as staple crops and adopting drought-resistant traditional alternatives such as millet, sorghum and cassava, said William Chilufya of Hivos International, a Dutch-based non-governmental organisation working on climate change and sustainable diets.
Zambia feels pinch of high food prices
Lower harvests of maize, wheat and sugarcane as a result of severe weather in the region are pushing up prices for Zambia's staple foods .
The Zambia National Farmers Union said erratic weather including late rains at the start of the season, drought in many areas and heavy flooding in some parts have all hit food production.
"Most of the farm inputs [such as seeds and chemicals] in this country are imported. That, combined with drought conditions, is pushing the cost of staples high," said Kingsley Kaswende, a researcher for the union.
Shifting weather patterns and changing rainfall mean farmers are struggling to keep production high. Most will have to change their farming patterns "to move with the shift", he said.
In April, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated that Southern Africa's maize harvest for the 2015/16 season will be 15% lower than the average for the past five years.
The average harvest per hectare for maize has fallen by 26% since last year, ministry figures show.
In April, Zambia's government imposed a ban on the export of maize and maize products to similarly drought-hit neighbouring countries including Malawi and Zimbabwe.
The country's stores of wheat are likely to be 59000 metric tons short of demand before the next harvest, according to the Millers Association of Zambia.
Sugar production similarly has declined from 424 000 tons last year to 380 000 this year. "Partial drought and low water levels of the Kafue River resulted in less water available to irrigate sugarcane estates," said Gavin Dalgleish, managing director of the Illovo Group, which owns Zambia Sugar.
Zambia's Central Statistical Office said inflation in August was running at nearly 20%, in part as a result of higher food prices.
A 25kg bag of mealie meal, which cost R69.30 in February is now selling for as much as R166.40.
The Zambian office of the Consumer Unity and Trust Society, an international consumer advocacy group, has called for the government to tackle high food prices by lowering import tariffs on fertiliser and seeds as well as reducing taxes on most cereal crop products.
A more permanent solution to worsening extreme weather - particularly drought - may lie in shifting away from maize and wheat as staple crops and adopting drought-resistant traditional alternatives such as millet, sorghum and cassava, said William Chilufya of Hivos International, a Dutch-based non-governmental organisation working on climate change and sustainable diets.
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