The Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water & Rural Development Anxious Masuka says the government is very comfortable with the food security outlook.
He says in actual fact the government projects that its own stocks by October will have 900 000 metric tonnes made up of 600 000 metric tonnes of wheat, 300 000 metric tonnes of maize and traditional grains.
“As Government we have a robust plan to assure the nation of food security.
“Government is deliberately using wheat as a strategic intervention for this season, this is based on Zimbabwe’s comparative advantage in winter, that it is more profitable, more yielding in winter compared to maize or sorghum,” he said during post cabinet briefing.
Masuka added that as of today, the government holds 440 000 metric tonnes of stock made up of maize which is about 135 000 metric tonnes, wheat and other additional grains.
“We all know that this is a El Nino ravaged season, yields will be low. It is important that we undertake a scientific assessment of what this little harvest will be and based on that we can then plan more accurate,” he added.
Recently, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa declared the country’s food situation a national emergency.
Mnangagwa said the country needs more than US$2 billion to be safe, he however assured the nation that no one will die of hunger.
“No Zimbabwean must succumb or die from hunger,” Mnangagwa told a press conference on Wednesday. “To that end, I do hereby declare a nationwide state of disaster, due to the El Niño-induced drought.
“Due to poor rains, more than 2.7 million people will not have enough food to put on the table this year, he warned. This season’s grain harvest was expected to bring in just over half of the cereals needed to feed the nation.”
Zwnews
