The Sunday Mail
Harmony Agere and Livingstone Marufu
Distribution of maize for food relief is progressing well and Government will ensure everyone gets their fair share, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira has said.
This came as the World Food Programme sounded its concern over the food security situation, saying the number of people in need of aid could double over the next 12 months.
Government was not in a position to comment on the WFP’s statement at the time of writing.
However, Minister Mupfumira said, “The distribution of maize is going on well across the country and it is our hope that everyone gets their share without any favour. So far we have distributed food equally in all provinces depending on the height of the problem in an area.”
On statistics, she said only the Grain Marketing Board had the accurate figures as they were handling distribution.
The WFP said 350 000 tonnes of the required 1,2 million tonnes of maize for food aid was imported between January and April.
The UN agency said it needed about US$360 million to feed vulnerable groups.
Briefing journalists in Johannesburg last week, WFP Zimbabwe country director Eddie Rowe said, “The food security situation from this month to March 2017 looks bleak. The livelihood patterns of rural Zimbabweans are structured in a way that 90 percent of activities are related to climate as well as agriculture and if you miss the season the livelihood opportunities are almost non-existent.”
With Government pegging the number of people in need of food assistance at around two million at present, figure could double before the next summer crop is harvested in 2017.
UN resident co-ordinator in Zimbabwe Bishow Parajuli said, “We have a gap of $290 million in overall needs which is estimated from April this month to March next year. We still have a huge gap, so I want to appeal to development partners.”
The majority of people who are food-insecure are in the rural areas.
Therefore, rural and urban development experts say Government should come up with a structure to make the rural economy diversified and less reliant on agriculture.
“There is actually nothing in the rural communities other than agriculture as far as the economy is concerned,” said Mthokozisi Gumbo, a rural development researcher with a non-governmental organisation.
“Considering that many of the farmers only grow crops and livestock for consumption and sell the little surplus they have, there can easily be a disaster in these areas if there is drought. So as a country, we should create sound economies in rural communities so that in times of drought people can easily buy food from elsewhere.”
The situation is not completely hopeless. Late rains which were experienced in the country a couple of months ago have brought a little relief as farmers say the rains have pushed yields higher than originally anticipated.
Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union director, Paul Zakariya, said originally projected yields in Mashonaland provinces are set to rise about 60 percent.
“We are very happy with the late rains that we have experienced. They have completed a total turn around in some regions of Mashonaland East, Central and West as we expect the harvests to improve in a big way in these areas,” he said.
“Those who planted from December 20 to January 15 in the aforementioned bread basket regions are expecting their harvest to improve by more than 60 percent.”
To assess agriculture, Zakariya said: “As farmers, whether tobacco or maize, we should have a data-base to show how much a farmer has sold in terms of tonnage and how much they have realised from the proceeds.”
UN agencies say the number of vulnerable people in Sadc stands at 32 million and close to US$1 billion is required to feed them.
Countries like Zambia and South Africa, which normally have good harvests, have cut maize exports.
Drought in Southern Africa has been caused by El Nino and while the next season is expected to be good, there are fears there could be flooding in some countries.
Sadc is developing regional early warning systems to enable member states to deal with disasters. The bloc is also contemplating establishing a committee responsible for sourcing aid for vulnerable groups.
