Zambia’s maize harvest is projected to reach an all-time high of 4.9 million metric tons for the 2025/26 crop season, providing a significant boost to the southern African nation’s economy as it continues to recover from historic climate shocks.
The forecast represents a 25% increase from the previous season’s record of 3.9 million tons, according to an agriculture ministry crop-forecasting survey released Tuesday. The bumper harvest is expected to shield the country from costly grain imports and add further downward pressure on domestic inflation, which has been steadily decelerating in recent months.
Favorable weather patterns and the timely distribution of agricultural inputs were the primary drivers behind the historic yield, a senior agriculture official said at an industry event in Lusaka. The projected output comfortably exceeds Zambia’s total domestic maize requirement, which is estimated at approximately 4.2 million tons.
The agricultural rebound marks a sharp turnaround from the devastating 2023/24 season, when the worst drought in living memory decimated crops across the region. The subsequent recovery and cooling consumer prices recently gave the Bank of Zambia room to cut its benchmark interest rate, contrasting with global monetary policymakers who have maintained restrictive lending rates amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
