Evicted Farmers Supplying Bulk Of Imported Maize
Bulawayo, June 11, 2012- The bulk of imported maize being supplied to hungry
Zimbabweans is coming from former white commercial farmers evicted during
the 2000 chaotic land invasions and now farming in Zambia.
Recipients of the government’s grain loan scheme in Matabeleland were last
week shocked to discover that the names on the stickers on the grain bags
were of former white farmers.
The Zimbabwe government has imported 300,000 tonnes of maize from Zambia to
feed millions of its citizens who are facing starvation.
Following the chaotic land seizures, most white commercial farmers, who were
dispossessed of their farms fled to Zambia where they bought new farms.
Since then Zimbabwe, which used to be southern Africa’s bread basket, has
been buying most of its maize grain staple from Zambia, to augment available
stocks.
“Last week I received two bags of maize grain under the grain loan scheme
from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depot in Insiza. One of the bags had a
green sticker inside written, ‘supplied by Michel Handris’, a former Karoi
commercial farmer. The sticker had also the contact details of Handris, who
is now farming in the southern parts ofZambia,” said Edmore Ndlovu.
Villagers who spoke to Radio VOP, in Umguza, also confirmed receiving maize
bags with stickers bearing names of former white commercial farmers.
“We are now required to destroy all the Zambian bags and repackage the grain
in our local bags,” said a GMB source.
He said that the fact that some former Zimbabwean farmers were supplying
maize had angered some senior Zanu (PF) officers and the minister of
Agriculture.
Zimbabwe faces a one million tonne maize deficit due to drought, with nearly
half of the national crop coming up for harvest this month failing due to
poor rains.
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made recently said nearly 45 percent of the
maize crop that was planted last farming season was a completewrite-off.
The country needs at least 2, 2 million tonnes of maize to feed itself
annually but Made said Harare currently has only 400,000 tonnes of maize
stocks, which must be complemented by imports to prevent hunger.
Donor organisations say they are re-assessing their assistance to Zimbabwe
to see how they can cope with the shortfall in both crop and funding. Last
year the United Nations said it would raise nearly $200 million for aid
efforts in Zimbabwe with half going to food security for more than 1.4
million people. But a funding shortfall affected the donor groups’ efforts
to assist.