MATSAPHA (30 November 2025): Is it possible for farmers to produce the 140,000 metric tonnes of maize that the country needs each year?
“Yes, it is”, farmers responded to their minister of agriculture’s challenge.
If they did, it would make good business sense. Maize is profitable, a metric tonne now valued at E7,000 would bring almost E100,000 million to farmers annually, sustain domestic employment and save the country foreign exchange from imported maize.
Farmers also showed that their promise is not idle talk. They are demonstrating that they have the knowledge, the capacity and the tenacity required for successful maize cultivation.
Currently, the national average maize harvest per hectare under rain-fed conditions hovers around 1.5 tonnes a hectare. But this is nothing to Mfanasibili Khumalo of Ndzevane in the Lowveld. He delivered 11.1 MT per ha and walked away with the top prize for maize productivity at the annual National Maize Corporation (NMC) 2025 awards.
Eswatini is also starting to produce giants in maize production. Towering head and shoulders above everyone, is Sibonginkosi Johnson. He delivered 258.09 metric tonnes of maize this year – two times the harvest of his nearest challenger. And he has not even started. Next year, if all goes well, he promises to deliver an unprecedented 1000 MT.
Speaking to about 150 farmers at the NMC awards that coincided with the company’s 40th anniversary, chairman Patrick Myeni compared NMC to the 40 years of test of faith, resilience and endurance of the children of Israel wandering in the Sinai desert on their way to the promised land. “Those who were there in the past 40 years will tell you how difficult it has been,” said Myeni. “We are not there yet, we need to work harder.”
Those years of trial and tribulation were echoed by others. “When I came to the ministry of agriculture, I found a shovel. All I needed to do was to shovel more soil into the grave and bury NMC,” commented one speaker.
Part of the challenges, included the three years of Covid 19, recurrent episodes of inclement weather and the disruption of global supply chains due to the Russia-Ukraine war since 2023. Belarus and Russia are the global suppliers of the key ingredients required for fertilizer manufacture – coal, natural gas, ammonia phosphates and potash. Disruption of supply chains spiked the price for urea and fertilizers which currently makes fertilizer unaffordable for most farmers.
NMC CEO, Mavela Vilane who marvelled at the tenacity of the farmer is credited for the company’s turnaround. Vilane came into NMC after MoA transferred its tractor services to NMC, adding to it responsibility for field cultivation on communal land.
Myeni also said the 40 years was an investment in creating a new generation of farmers.
That generation was in full view in the auditorium which also marked the 10th anniversary of the annual maize farmers’ awards. The resurgence in maize cultivation is thanks to a lucky coincidence. As Vilane stepped into NMC, the Eswatini Water and Agriculture Enterprise (EWADE) realized a E45 million savings on their 2022 operations. A decision was then made to create a stimulus fund for food production. The result was a revolving fund for commercial maize farmers, now styled Hambubuye. This year government injected a further E14million, topping the fund to E59 million.
Farmers who have experienced the Hambubuye benefit acclaim the difference: “I started with nothing…,” declares the Sicunusa farmer who went into commercial maize cultivation in 2023. “Were it not for the Hambubuye fund… I would not be here today,” confessed Johnson, echoing the praise many farmers feel for the support they receive from NMC.
Not surprisingly, Hambubuye has heightened expectations not only about sustained access to the fund but also hopes that the size of the loans will increase. That discussion however might go against a desire for more new maize farmers to access the fund and broaden the base of maize producers, with the hope that farmers that have benefitted from the stimulus will maintain the momentum and continue on their own.
There is growing confidence that NMC is now harvesting the benefits from Hambubuye. The national maize is gradually inching forward and ticking upward. This year it convincingly climbed way past the half-way mark again, rising from 75,000 MT to 77,000 MT. Similarly, the beans harvest has increased, from 400 MT to 1000 MT. But this is still 89% away from the required 7000 MT that is consumed nationally.
“Our target in the next two years is to achieve food sovereignty in beans, maize and milk. While responsibility for milk is elsewhere, 67% of the mandate lies with NMC. Next year, I want NMC and EWADE to deliver 110,000 MT of maize and 7000 MT of beans,” minister of Agriculture Mandla Tsawuka declared.
Commercial maize cultivation is a business that is attracting farmers with good prices. NMC has increased the contract price for a MT of maize from E6000 to E7000 to discourage interlopers who sneak to farmers to offer them higher prices. This has prompted Vilane to appeal to farmers to respect their contracts.
Jm/today/30.11.2026
