Southern Africa crop outlook positive

The crop outlook for southern Africa remains positive after most countries received above-normal rains, but flood damage, pests and disease may undermine yields, a US funded agency said on Wednesday.
Aid agencies say scorching drought last year has left 10-12 million people in southern Africa in need of food handouts until this season's harvest begins in April.
In its latest monthly update on food security in the region, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) said most areas had received rains that were well above normal, with the exceptions of northern Tanzania and Mozambique.
"Across the region...crops are reported to be in fair to good condition, although there are reports of flood damage, pest and disease infestations and nutrient leaching as a result of excessive rainfall, all of which will negatively impact yields at the final harvest," FEWSNET said.
"Nonetheless, the overall regional cereal production outlook remains positive. If the rains remain normal to above normal as forecast and there is no premature termination, many countries will record production increases over last year," it added.
Zambia and Malawi are among the countries expected to have surpluses this year after chronic shortages last season - a scenario that could constrain maize prices in South Africa, the biggest producer in the region.
But until the harvest comes in, many people remain hungry.
Most countries are at the peak of the "hunger season" sparked by last year's drought, with food access a major concern in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
"Reports from Malawi suggest that a growing number of households...have run out of both food and cash, and are now depending on relief food distributions," FEWSNET said.
Soaring inflation - currently the highest in the world at 782 percent - is eroding income levels for poor households in Zimbabwe, where shortages have driven up basic commodity prices.
Earlier this week Zimbabwe state media reported that the country was losing much of its staple maize to smuggling to neighbouring countries, compounding five years of shortages in a former regional breadbasket.
Critics say disruptions to agriculture linked to President Robert Mugabe's controversial seizures of white-owned farms for landless blacks have compounded the impact of drought.