Japan avails US$5 million for drought relief
April 14, 2013 in Community News
The Japanese Government has availed 460 million Japanese Yen (US$5,7
million) to the World Food Programme (WFP) to feed Zimbabweans facing food
shortages due to drought.
By Our Staff
Farmer organisations estimated Zimbabwe’s maize deficit of 1,4 million
tonnes following a poor 2012/13 growing season, which was characterised by
low and delayed rainfalls in most parts of the country.
Zimbabwe’s annual consumption of maize meal, the main staple food, averages
2,2 million tonnes. However, organisations such as the Zimbabwe Commerical
Farmers Union, estimate this year’s maize output at 800 000 tonnes from an
initial projection of 1,2 million tonnes.
This has necessitated massive food imports to avert mass starvation.
Some embassies and non-governmental organisations therefore stepped in to
help prevent hunger in the country. Japan’s food aid programme through the
WFP was launched in the Rushinga District, north east of Zimbabwe, one of
the areas in the country that faces a food deficit.
“The food aid launch which took off in Rushinga will allow WFP to scale up
operations and ensure that vulnerable families in drought-stricken areas
continue to receive maize and peas in the difficult months before the
harvest in April,” Japanese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Yonezo Fukuda said at an
official handover ceremony attended by WFP country director, Felix Bamezon.
Apart from intervening through the supply of grain, the Japanese embassy has
also been supporting irrigation schemes and safe water projects throughout
the country in order to promote agriculture and food security.
The projects, in which more than a million dollars has been injected, will
benefit more than 3000 households in areas such as Chipinge District in
Manicaland.
Agricultural experts point out that in order for Zimbabwe to maintain food
security, irrigation and water harvesting, instead of sole dependence on dry
land cropping, must be stepped up. They point to climatological changes
which are adversely affecting Zimbabwe’s rainfall patterns.
Given government’s constraints in providing agricultural extension services,
the embassy, in conjunction with organisations such as Africa 2000 and the
Mercy Corps, are providing training to improve cultivation skills and
resource management. It is hoped that by helping the rural families improve
their farming methods and having their agricultural capacity enhanced,
Zimbabwe will in the medium to long-term be food-secure.