Hope in Grain Warriors: Silent Heroes From Zambia Rescue Crisis

25 September 2025, Zambia: In early 2024, Zambia, long seen as a key player in Africa’s maize value chain, found itself facing a crisis unlike any in recent memory. A historic El Niño-induced drought dried up over 1 million hectares of maize, plunging nearly 6 million people into serious food insecurity. For a country where maize is central to both diet and economy, the blow was devastating. 

But while the drought dominated the headlines, another, quieter threat loomed in the background: a viral disease that could have crippled the nation’s maize sector. 

A second threat: Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN)

As the Zambian government moved swiftly to close the food gap through emergency maize imports especially from neighboring Tanzania, experts raised the alarm. Tanzania has battled Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) since 2012. For Zambia, a country still free from MLN, importing maize from an MLN-affected country was a high-stakes gamble. 

“One slip-up with MLN and the entire region’s maize seed security could collapse. Zambia did not gamble. They chose science—and they chose wisely.”
— Dr. Suresh L.M., Maize Pathologist, CIMMYT 

MLN, caused by a combination of viruses, can result in total crop failure. Beyond threatening food supply, it posed a major risk to Zambia’s seed production industry, which supplies MLN-free seed to farmers across southern Africa. 

Zambia’s maize matters

With around 1.4 million hectares under maize production, Zambia isn’t just feeding itself, it’s feeding a region. Any MLN outbreak would not only threaten local farmers, but also disrupt seed supply chains that countless farmers in neighboring countries depend on. 

So while getting food on the table was urgent, it had to be done without compromising the long-term future of the maize industry in Zambia and neighboring countries such as Malawi and Zimbabwe. 

Keeping a virus at bay

On March 16, 2024, Plant Quarantine and Phytosanitary Service (PQPS), Zambia held an emergency technical meeting with the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA). Their task- to find a way to import maize safely, without letting MLN sneak across the border. 

They turned to CIMMYT for technical guidance on how to prevent the spread of Maize Lethal Necrosis through grain trade. Drawing on years of experience in MLN surveillance and diagnostics across Africa, CIMMYT recommended strict phytosanitary protocols, including testing every maize consignment from source to entry point. This science-based approach became the backbone of Zambia’s strategy to safeguard its maize sector during the emergency import operation.  

“Protecting Zambia meant protecting the entire southern Africa maize pipeline. Our job was to ensure that emergency imports didn’t become biological time bombs.”
— Dr. Suresh L.M., MLN Surveillance Lead, CIMMYT 

Heroes in plain sight

Among those leading the charge was Dr. Kenneth Msiska, Head of Zambia’s NPPO. Backed by CIMMYT’s advice and data from Tanzania’s surveillance teams, Dr. Msiska and his colleagues designed a multi-layered plan to keep MLN out. They became grain warriors! 

“This wasn’t just a grain import, it was a national rescue mission. Every test, every checkpoint, every sleepless night was worth it to safeguard our country.”
— Dr. Kenneth Msiska, NPPO Zambia 

Together, these “grain warriors” carried out: 

• Risk mapping to identify safe MLN free maize-growing areas in Tanzania’s southern highlands. 
• Joint pre-shipment inspections by both Zambia and Tanzania quarantine and food reserve agencies. 
• Daily lab testing at border crossing points using ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) to detect viral infections. 
• Continuous oversight at entry points with trained teams and clear standard protocols. 

“The Tanzania-Zambia joint inspections proved what’s possible when urgency meets expertise. Our maize moved fast—but never at the expense of safety.”
— Representative, NPPO Tanzania 

Farmers feel the impact

Behind every truckload of maize that safely crossed the border was the work of teams testing, tracking, and verifying grain quality often without recognition. But the results were felt on the ground. 

For farmers like Cephas Sialubala and Vincent Siajeke, who lost entire fields to drought, the arrival of clean, safe maize imports brought relief and hope for the next season. 

“We lost one season to drought, but not our future to disease. Thanks to the heroes we never saw, we can plant again.”
— Cephas Sialubala, Maize Farmer, Kazungula District 

“This maize isn’t just food—it’s proof that when people work together, even a crisis can be cured.”
— Vincent Siajeke, Farmer, Southern Province 

A Successful Outcome

By June 2025, Zambia had imported all 650,000 metric tons of maize without a single MLN incident. Maize production rebounded to 3.63 million metric tons a result made possible by quiet determination, smart coordination, and trust in science. 

A model for future crises

This joint effort by Zambia and Tanzania with technical support from CIMMYT, is now seen as a blueprint for managing agricultural crises in real time. It shows what can happen when countries choose collaboration over shortcuts, and when frontline professionals are empowered to lead. 

“In the face of a silent killer like MLN, regional solidarity and surveillance were our greatest weapons.”
— Phytosanitary Officer, Tanzania-Zambia MLN Task Force 

Sustaining vigilance beyond the crises

The 2024 Zambia maize crisis proved that early action, guided by science and strong partnerships, works. The country avoided a potentially devastating viral outbreak (MLN) while addressing urgent food needs, thanks to timely coordination, surveillance, and phytosanitary controls. 

But this success story should not remain a one-time emergency response. 

To protect regional food systems from future climate shocks and transboundary pests, sustained investment is urgently needed in: 

• National and regional plant health infrastructure 
• MLN and aflatoxin diagnostics capacity 
• Seed health surveillance and data systems 
• Long-term research partnerships 
• Policy harmonization for safe regional trade 

Proactive systems work, but they can’t run on urgency alone. They need consistent investment to keep countries a step ahead of the next agricultural crisis. 

Also Read: Two Rows of Grapes, Two Different Futures: How Biostimulants Are Reshaping Farming

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