Maravi

MDC predicts food shortage in Zim

MDC predicts food shortage in Zim
Written by Kingsley Kaswende in Harare
Monday, January 19, 2009 7:27:47 AM

THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has predicted that Zimbabwe will this year experience another serious shortfall in food production and that citizens will continue to starve until at least April 2010.

MDC secretary for lands and agriculture Renson Gasela said last Thursday that at best, maize production this season would be less than 500,000 metric tonnes, signifying a shortfall of 1.5 million metric tonnes in domestic requirements.

"Zimbabweans will continue to starve until at least April 2010. Nothing can be done to change this," he said. "The sooner this is realised, the better because plans need to be put in place now to avoid a perpetuation of the food shortage and break this chain which has been going on since 2000, there is need to draw up agricultural production plans for the next season now."

He said despite the government earmarking 500,000 hectares of land under the fast track Champion Famer Programme to support rural farmers to produce two million metric tonnes of food, only less than half of the required inputs were availed.

"We know for certain that while the maize seed required for the season is 50,000 metric tonnes, there was only 23,000 tonnes available with a further promised import of 5,000 tonnes. So, seed shortage militated against putting sufficient land under maize production. The hectares planted can only be a factor of seed availability. I know for certain that champion farmers across the country got very small quantities of maize seed," he said.

Gasela said there was no diesel for land preparation this season because farmers abused the subsidised fuel they got at very low prices by selling it.

"Those who were able to plant anything had to use coupons. To get coupons, one had to go to the illegal money market," he said.

Gasela said farmers planted without any basal fertilisers and that top dressing was not available. He said where fertiliser was available, it was being sold expensively in foreign currency.

"A combination of unavailability of fuel, insufficient seed and absence of any form of fertilisers can only mean that the crop will be adversely affected. There will be massive food shortage this year. This is compounded by the rainfall pattern," he said.

He said at the beginning of January, there had been good rains in the south of the country including some of the central parts.

"If rains continue up to March, many people will have at least some food to see them past winter. The whole of [the eastern part of the country is] disastrous. In these areas, their first rainfall was during Christmas week. Farmers are still busy planting," said Gasela.

Labels: HUNGER, MDC

posted by MrK @ 7:30 AM