Flood-stricken areas to benefit from emergency recovery programme

Over 1,000 households whose crops were destroyed in the recent floods in Zimbabwe's northern provinces will benefit from an emergency agricultural programme launched by the Save the Children Fund (SCFUK), the organisation announced on Tuesday. Last month strong rains hit Muzarabani in Mashonaland Central and Musambakaruma and Negande in Mashonaland West causing serious damage to property. Two people died and more than 6,000 were affected in Muzarabani and 50 families had to be airlifted from the flood plains of Musambakaruma. Crops that had survived the previous few months of drought were washed away, worsening the situation of the people who were already hard hit by the current food shortages. To tide people over their immediate difficulties, SCFUK provided food aid, blankets, cooking utensils, water purification tablets and buckets. An assessment was carried out by the government's Agriculture and Extension Research Services (AREX) and it was established that the soil had retained enough moisture to sustain a winter crop. Based on these findings, SCFUK has launched an agricultural recovery intervention programme worth nearly Zim $20 million (US $373,000). This would see the distribution of 9 mt of short season maize seeds, 4 mt of sugar beans and assorted vegetable seeds. This would benefit 360 households in Dambakurimwa, 50 in Chadereka and 120 in Chidod, which were the worst affected areas. The same programme will be launched in Kariba district benefiting 800 households. However, due to the poor water retention capacity of the soil, people in Musambakaruma will only receive vegetable and bean seeds. "It's the second time we've done this [after a flood] and the harvests realised were very good and reduced dependency," Chris McIvor, SCFUK country programme director told IRIN. "We've had very positive feedback from the communities who are delighted to be producing their own food." Distribution of the seeds, most of which are of a variety requiring a shorter growing period, begins on Wednesday in Muzarabani and next week in the Mashonaland West areas.