Malawi : program close-out report [: section 416 United States Government agricultural commodity foreign donation agreement -- yellow corn, 28,500 metric tons]

480 Section 416 maize to 650,000 Mozambican refugees in Malawi and 750,000 Malawians affected by drought and crop losses due to mealy bug infestation. The report covers the period 3/88-1990. Refugee feeding operations were concentrated in the southern, southwest, and southeast areas of the country bordering Mozambique. Relief for the Malawian population was concentrated in the drought-affected areas of the lower Shire Valley and the mealy bug infested areas of the Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, and Karonga. The program was basically effective, with most of the maize reaching its destination and helping to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. The program provided a single shipment of 28,500 MT of both bulk and bagged yellow maize. Bulk maize was bagged upon arrival at the port of Durban, South Africa. The maize was transported to Malawi via train to either Harare or Lusaka and then trucked from these points to either Blantyre or Lilongwe. The Malawi Red Cross distributed the maize for the Mozambican refugees, while the Government of Malawi"s Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation was responsible for receiving, storing, and dispatching the maize for Malawians. Some 780 MT of maize was lost during the overland transport. This was attributed to poor loading of bags onto rail cars, improperly tied tarpaulins on railcars, and incorrect bagging in Durban. These problems have resulted in changes in the procedure for maize shipments through Durban.