Zimbabwe produced just a third of the food it needs this season, the main opposition said on Wednesday, predicting the hunger crisis will worsen in the impoverished Southern African country.
The state Grain Market Board, the sole distributor of the corn staple, received less than 400 000 tonnes of the 1,2-million tonnes of corn and other grain it needs by the end of the April-to-October harvest, the Movement for Democratic Change said in its regular newsletter.
Zimbabwe consumes about 1,8-million tonnes of corn meal a year, or 5 000 tonnes a day. Without massive food imports, the opposition warned that half the nation’s 12,5-million population faces deepening hunger in coming months.
”Anyone who says there is enough food is lying,” said Renson Gasela, the opposition’s shadow agriculture minister.
The government has said farmers are holding back large amounts of food, an explanation questioned last month by a parliamentary panel made up of both opposition and ruling-party lawmakers.
Agricultural production has collapsed in the four years since President Robert Mugabe ordered the seizure of about 5 000 white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black Zimbabweans.
Last year, about 5,5-million Zimbabweans received food handouts from international agencies in what was once a regional breadbasket.
The government had forecast a bumper harvest of 2,4-million tonnes of grain this year, telling the United Nations food agency and other international donors it no longer needed emergency assistance.
The opposition accused the government of seeking to control food aid to use it as a political weapon in the run-up to key parliamentary elections in March.
Its officials in some districts of Chipinge, eastern Zimbabwe, have already reported that corn meal is only being distributed to people carrying ruling-party membership cards — allegations the ruling Zanu-PF party denies.
The opposition also warned that planting for next year’s harvest is being severely curtailed by acute shortages of seed, fertiliser, farm equipment and financing.
The Grain Marketing Board, which refused to comment on the opposition claims, is already said to be importing food from neighbouring countries.
The South African Grain Information Service, which monitors food movements in Southern Africa, said that last week alone Zimbabwe bought 5 543 tonnes of grain from Argentina. More regular shipments from South Africa and other nations are planned, it said. — Sapa-AP