51% of Zim population in need of food assistance, ...

51% of Zim population in need of food assistance, as govt pins hope on private sector imports

Oscar J Jeke

Zim Now Reporter

The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has confirmed that over half of the country’s population is faced with a food insecurity crisis amid the El Niño-induced drought that has ravaged most in southern Africa, with the government urging the private sector to import stock feed and as well as urban maize requirements to close the deficit gap up to March 2025.

Rural folk have been most affected as revealed by data from the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee Report, which shows 6 million people in need of assistance, giving a total of 7.7 million people when added together with urban numbers. The number excludes the 4.5 million pupils who require food under the school meals programme.

Speaking at the post-Cabinet briefing meeting yesterday in the capital, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere said that the ZimLAC report has revealed the hard-hitting effects of the drought, that has Zimbabwe at the epicentre, with half of the country’s population food-insecure and in need of food assistance between May 2024 and March 2025.

“The Second Round of Crops, Livestock and Fisheries Assessment of 18 April 2024; and the Rapid Village-based Food Assessment concluded on 15 April 2024 established that 6 million people in rural areas will require assistance between May 2024 and March 2025. The Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee Report indicated that 1.7 million people who reside in urban areas will require assistance. A total of 7.7 million people, being 51% of the population will require food assistance. This excludes a further 4.5 million who would require school meals,” said Dr Muswere.

He also added that grain stocks at the national reserves’ last update on May 9 recorded a low of 423 779 metric tonnes showing a wide margin that has to be imported to take the country to the next harvest.

In line with this, the minister said government expectation is that the private sector will import stockfeed and the whole urban maize requirements, sufficient to take them up to March 2025.

“The grain stock at the Grain Marketing Board as at 9 May 2024 stood at 423 779 metric tonnes. The private sector is expected to import all the stockfeed requirements of 400 000 metric tonnes, and urban maize requirements of up to 450 000 metric tonnes to March 2025. The private sector has capacity to import 1 000 000 metric tonnes to mitigate the effect of the drought,” he added.

Zimbabwe declared the 2023/2024 season a State of Disaster, with the President initiating a call for assistance to both local and international actors.

The country has also committed to providing food assistance to both rural and urban households in the wake of the El Nino induced drought, with removal of import duty on grains and cereals lifted up to households level to help mitigate the deficit gap created by poor harvest experience in the current cropping season.