{"id":323679,"date":"2017-05-30T11:21:21","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T11:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=323679"},"modified":"2017-05-30T11:21:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T11:21:21","slug":"south-africa-to-harvest-the-highest-maize-crop-in-40-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/05\/south-africa-to-harvest-the-highest-maize-crop-in-40-years\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa to harvest the highest maize crop in 40 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Africa is expecting to harvest its biggest maize crop in four decades a year after drought devastated output of the country’s staple food.<\/p>\n
Farmers are set to produce over 15 million tonnes which means the country will have a 50% surplus for the year, according to government figures.<\/p>\n
The bumper harvest is a result of good rains in January and February.<\/p>\n
The extra produce is expected to help to push food prices down, according to agricultural economists.<\/p>\n
Food security is a concern for many and in South Africa rising food prices have made life more difficult particularly for the millions of poor and unemployed, says the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani.<\/p>\n