Food assessment remains bleak as winter months approach
By Alex Bell
12 May 2010
A recent international assessment of Zimbabwe’s food security has remained bleak as the winter months approach, with warnings that the country will remain largely dependent on international aid.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the country is facing a cereal deficit of an estimated 459 000 metric tonnes. The United Nations agency said in a ‘Crop and Livestock Assessment Report’ that 20 out of the country’s 62 districts had failed to produce enough food to meet basic needs, with ‘erratic weather and seed and fertilizer shortages’ being blamed for the widespread crop failures
“The Crop and Livestock Assessment indicates that 20 rural districts did not produce enough to meet their rural population requirements,” the WFP report said.
The UN group said the worst affected areas were Matabeleland South and Masvingo, as well as the eastern Manicaland province. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has also recently warned about impending widespread hunger, explaining how hundreds of thousands of more Zimbabweans will be in need of urgent food assistance. According to the most recent figures, a conservative estimate of 2.17 million Zimbabweans currently need food aid and this number is set to keep rising.
The WFP report this week added that a more comprehensive report, detailing exact food deficits and the full extent of hunger vulnerability, will be available next month.
“The livelihood assessment is currently underway. It will be collecting information at house, community and district level. Results of the assessment will determine areas of deficits within the districts and the extent of food insecurity within the household level. Results are expected at the end of June 2010,” the WFP said.
Food production has plunged drastically since the start of Robert Mugabe’s land ‘reform’ programme in 2000. Despite the obvious affect of the campaign on the nation, which has faced hunger year after year, there has been no effort to stop ongoing attacks on farms. ZANU PF meanwhile has been quick to blame western imposed targeted sanctions for the country’s economic collapse, created by the collapse of agriculture. They have no problems however accepting western food aid to feed the people they’ve abandoned to hunger.