Zimbabwe on brink of food crisis as climate, economy and conflicting data collide

Zimbabwe is grappling with a looming food crisis as a confluence of factors, including climate change, economic instability and currency depreciation have severely impacted grain production.

The situation is worsened by conflicting information surrounding the country’s food situation, which reflects a long history of disputed data and accusations of government manipulation.

The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that 2.7 million people, about a quarter of the rural population, will face food insecurity in the first quarter of 2024.

“The economic dynamics, currency issues, climatic issues, the harvest, make Zimbabwe regularly feature on a hotspot list of food-security risks in the world,” said Francesca Erdelmann, the WFP’s country representative in Zimbabwe, echoing concerns shared by other organizations working in war-torn regions like Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

The Zimbabwe dollar’s decline, coupled with erratic rainfall and high temperatures due to El Nino, has hampered agricultural productivity and pushed the country’s grain requirements to 2.2 million tons.

However, the government estimates the corn harvest this year to be only half that amount.

Despite this grim outlook, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) remains optimistic.

“Currently we have excess stock of maize,” claimed GMAZ chairperson, Tafadzwa Musarara, during a parliamentary hearing. He further stated plans to import one million tonnes of grain by March 2025 to mitigate the drought’s impact.

However, these claims contradict recent reports from food monitoring agencies, which estimate that at least 4.4 million Zimbabweans are already facing food insecurity.

In January this year, WFP received 11,3 million US dollars worth of food aid from USAID as part of a programme to feed 2.7 million starving Zimbabweans in rural areas.

Additionally, the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) acknowledged limited grain reserves, raising concerns about the government’s ability to address the crisis effectively.

With the next harvest months away and the El Nino phenomenon persisting, Zimbabwe’s food security remains under significant threat particularly impacting rural areas. Many citizens struggle to access basic necessities like food, leading to hunger.

The country is also facing massive currency depreciation with the Zimbabwean dollar having been steadily losing value, making imports expensive and eroding purchasing power for citizens.

A significant portion of the workforce is unable to find work, further exacerbating financial hardship.