Drought-induced food security warning

A drought is looming in southern Zimbabwe following poor rains that could spell total crop failure in some districts, a preliminary report by the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) has warned.

A field trip by the USAID-funded FEWS Network and national agencies in mid-January to Gwanda, Beitbridge and Chiredzi districts found that “most of the early planted maize is a complete right off, whilst some of the late planted crops wilted at germination.” A preliminary report by FEWS said that “this combined with the depressed livestock prices and the high grain prices [means that] current food security is under threat”. It added that “contingency measures need to be planned now in the event of total crop failure and reduced yields”.

The 2000 season has been generally characterised by patchy and light rainfall across the country. A dry spell in January this year has worsened the situation, with most of the southern districts of Matebeleland South province receiving less than 60 percent of normal rainfall, FEWS said. Mberengwa district in Midlands province has also been hard hit.

More than 50 percent of the farmers in the affected districts “may not be harvesting anything”, as in addition to a reduced area under crop, “severe moisture stress” has taken its toll on plants already in the ground. “The crop stage and condition was described by most farmers as worse than the 1991/92 drought,” the report said.

“Households who have run out of grain in Beitbridge, Chiredzi and Gwanda districts are barely surviving, with some going on one meal per day. The situation could soon be desperate,” FEWS stressed. “Since crop harvest could be reduced by between 80 to 100 percent in most of the areas if it does not rain and coping mechanisms have been eroded, food security in 2001/02 remains under threat and food aid programmes leading to sustainable production are required.”

Among the recommendations by FEWS are that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) set up satellite depots to facilitate farmers access to maize, and not introduce rationing. The early warning unit also called for unhindered border trade to allow farmers to access food from Mozambique and South Africa and urged the introduction of child supplementary feeding in Chiredzi “as school attendance is already being affected by lack of food in some schools”.