Food security in Zimbabwe

March 2010

Regions of Zimbabwe supported by recent Practical Action projects on food security have been hit by dry weather and reduced yields.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Agricultural Development, in conjuction with the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, and the United Nations Development Programme, undertook a national crop assessment exercise in February 2010. This was in response to the current agricultural season which has been severely compromised by a dry spell that lasted from mid December 2009 to mid January 2010, particularly in the south.

According to the First Round Crop and Livestock Assessment report, over 11% of the maize crop planted in the 2009/2010-summer season has been declared a complete write-off. Poor rains and hailstorms have affected 200,574 hectares of maize out of a total 1,723,990 hectares planted this season.

The most affected regions were Matabeleland South, Midlands, Masvingo, parts of Manicaland and Mashonaland Central.

The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) estimates that a total of 2.17 million people will be food insecure up to March 2010.

In the country's Matabeleland South and North provinces communities will require urgent food aid in the next two months (April and May) owing to widespread crop failure this season. The number of people in need of emergency food aid has been put at 1,3 million with Matabeleland South being the most affected as 700,000 face starvation.

Practical Action Southern Africa's food security work covered some districts in the most affected provinces mentioned above. The Improving the Livelihood Options of the Vulnerable Rural Poor Communities in Semi-arid Areas of Zimbabwe project which ended in February this year, covered Gwanda, Bulilima, Matopo and Mangwe districts in Matabeleland South.

The Enhancing the Food and Livelihood Security of Vulnerable Communities in Drought Prone Areas of Zimbabwe project implemented until December 2009, covered some districts in Manicaland, Matabeleland South, and Mashonaland Central provinces

In the most affected provinces, the crop germination percentages in the districts were as low as 50% in some areas and harvests were projected at below 30 bags per hectare. This also resulted in a decrease in the area put under plantation. The poor harvest will mean that communities will have less than four month's food gap.

Food and livelihoods security projects in Zimbabwe | Climate change diaries