Cereal availability uncertain

National cereal availability in Zimbabwe remains uncertain, with rural dwellers in maize-deficit areas bartering or relying on friends and family to supplement their supply, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) said in its latest report. Government spokesman Steyn Berejena told IRIN on Thursday that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) had so far received 298,000 mt of maize from farmers, against a national demand for 1.8 million mt. He said the government remained hopeful that its predicted grain harvest of 2.4 million mt would materialise. Berejena noted that "deliveries are still going on - part of the maize crop is still in the fields". He added that "some [commercial] farmers even smuggled their machinery and equipment out of the country, which has affected the rate at which crops are harvested". FEWS NET observed that "information on GMB imports has not been made available, [making] conclusions on cereal availability in coming months difficult to assess", but on-farm stocks were declining. While "food-insecure households are still able to rely on neighbours, friends and relatives within their areas and adjacent districts to supplement their grain needs", those in deficit producing areas, mainly in the eastern and southern parts of the country, have had to "purchase or barter for their cereal", FEWS NET said. The report said that "although basic commodities like maize meal, cooking oil, flour and sugar are currently available in urban markets, affordability is a problem". Hyperinflation, high rates of unemployment and low wages were contributing to food insecurity in urban areas. "As more households rely on the market to obtain their cereal needs, food security will depend more and more on the GMB, which controls the formal grain supply system. [However,] the quantity of grain collected by the GMB, as of mid-August, is insufficient to meet the needs in urban centres and rural areas with deficit production. There are concerns as to how well the parastatal will be able to play its grain redistribution role," FEWS NET warned. Berejena, meanwhile, noted that "even if we do not reach the target of 2.4 million mt of maize, we do have other cereal crops which are also staple foods in Zimbabwe. So the food security [of the country] really is not threatened".