UN crop assessment on hold

UN officials in Zimbabwe said on Monday they were still waiting for official confirmation from the government that a joint agency assessment of crop production has been cancelled. The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation reportedly withdrew their teams from the field on Friday after being told that the agriculture ministry had called off the crop inspection. "We have written to the government for clarification," UN Humanitarian Coordinator Victor Angelo told IRIN. "We were invited to start the field work, and now we have been asked to stop, and we need a formal letter that states we have to stop, and why." He said the assessment teams, which had only been in the field a few days, had been withdrawn to the capital, Harare, where they were "waiting for further instructions". WFP spokesman Richard Lee said crop assessment missions, conducted in several countries in the region at this time of the year, provided good estimates of harvest production. Zimbabwe has faced three consecutive years of food insecurity, driven by drought, the impact of HIV/AIDS, and the problems surrounding the government's land redistribution programme. "We need the figures to see whether there will be shortages, and a need for international humanitarian assistance ... between now and the next harvest in April 2005," Lee explained. The UN launched a revised donor appeal for Zimbabwe in April, seeking additional funds through to the end of 2004, in an effort to address worsening humanitarian conditions. The UN said this year's harvest was expected to fall short of national demand, but "the government will consider making a separate appeal for general food aid, once additional information on the performance of the current crop is available". A diplomatic source told IRIN that the apparent vetoing of the crop assessment "came as a shock to the donors, because they wanted to get some positive signals that the government and the international community could work together on humanitarian responses. The cancellation of the assessment mission is a negative signal."