Zim relaunches food-for-work programmes

Lizwe Sebatha 

BULAWAYO – Government has partnered Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to re-launch food-for-work programmes, days after a United Nations (UN) agency urged Harare to start food relief efforts to avert starvation due to massive crop failure, a Cabinet minister said. 

A joint government and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) crop assessment report released recently urged government to resume food supplies to areas facing poor harvests because of erratic rains. 

Crops in most parts of the country, especially in Matabeleland South, Midlands and Manicaland were a complete write-off following a prolonged dry spell between November and January, leaving villagers staring starvation. 

For example, the hunger-prone Matabeleland South province is estimated to require at least 9 000 tonnes of food aid per month to avert starvation after most crops in the region failed. 

Agriculture Mechanisation Minister Joseph Made told ZimOnline on Sunday that the government has partnered with NGOs to re-launch food-for-work programmes to ease the impact of food shortages. 

“The government has since partnered with the NGOs operating in the country to provide food to areas that had massive crop failure on a food-for-work basis,” said Made, adding; “The NGOs are working with the local government authorities to ensure the smooth flow of the programme.” 

Made said the Finance Ministry has also released US$3.5 million to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to allow it to buy grain as well as set up the 500 000-metric-tonne strategic grain reserve to mitigate any food deficits. 

Zimbabwe has grappled with severe food shortages over the past decade after President Robert Mugabe disrupted the key agriculture sector through his chaotic and often violent land reform programme. 

The farm seizures reduced agricultural production by 60 percent resulting in most Zimbabweans depending on food handouts from international food relief agencies. 

But Mugabe denies that his land reforms – that he says were necessary to ensure blacks also had access to arable land that they were denied by previous white-led governments – triggered the food shortages blaming the crisis on drought and economic sabotage by his Western enemies that he says crippled the economy’s capacity to produce key inputs such as seed and fertilizers. – ZimOnline

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