The shortage of fertilisers, seed for staple cereal crops, fuel and electricity supply, compounded by continued shortage of foreign currency, are diminishing output prospects for the country’s coming winter maize, wheat and barley as well as the 2003/04 summer crops, the latest Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net) report says.
Zimbabwe is currently expected to show a 2002/03 maize harvest of between 800 000 and 900 000 tons, leaving a cereal deficit of one million tons, of which 700 000 tons is maize.
“Even if the outstanding Grain Marketing Board (GMB) commercial imports of 160 000 tons and food aid imports of 80 000 tons are moved into the country, the cereal gap will still be 725 000 tons (of which about 580 000 tons will be maize),” the report said.
Inflation in Zimbabwe stood at 269,2% in April 2003 and is estimated to reach 500% by year end.
Coupled with reduced income levels and incoming generating opportunities, run-away inflation is making more of the urban population food insecure, the report said.
“After three consecutive years of poor harvests, the food security situation in the Matebeleland provinces, some parts of the Midlands and Masvingo provinces and areas in the extreme north along Zambezi valley remains critical and is set to worsen after June,” Fews Net said.
World Food Programme (WFP) Emergency Operations (EMOP) food aid distributions come to an end, unless another EMOP is put in place before then. In most of these areas, GMB supplies are inadequate and the market is short of staple cereal.
“Staple prices are too high for most households to afford to buy sufficient grain, especially since rural income generating opportunities have not recovered from the effects of the drought,” it said.
“The general increase in prices of all commodities continues unabated throughout the whole country while income lags behind. In urban areas, unemployment continues to increase, yet apart from a few isolated instances, the urban poor have not received needed food assistance,” the report said. – I-Net Bridge