The Zimbabwean government has announced proactive steps to safeguard its citizens' food supply in anticipation of a drought linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which poses a significant risk to food security.

Wilson Waison

Following a Cabinet briefing, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, Anxious Masuka, shared that the government is implementing a strategy based on the Preliminary Food Security Outlook for April 2024 to March 2025.

“To combat the threat of hunger, the government will allow the duty-free importation of essential food items such as maize, rice, and cooking oil starting July 2024,” Masuka disclosed.

In response to the expected El Niño-induced drought, the government is taking multiple steps to ensure the nation's food security and prevent hunger-related deaths. Masuka highlighted the growing need to expand rice cultivation due to its increasing popularity among Zimbabweans.

He further advocated for boosting local wheat farming to substitute maize consumption, thereby satisfying the country's maize requirements. The approval of the Food Security Outlook Report up until March 2025 aims to guide the planning for winter cereal production.

Masuka noted the strategic emphasis on wheat this winter and proposed that a monthly wheat consumption rate of 7.5kg per person be established for social welfare purposes, which is to be increased to 8.5kg per person per month after October.

To support local farmers, the government has set the local grain purchase price at the import parity price of US$390 per ton, aiming to buy up surplus local grain.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, mentioned that removing duties on the importation of rice and potato seeds will contribute to alleviating hunger.

Furthermore, Muswere assured that the importation of Genetically Modified maize for livestock feed would be conducted under strict milling and distribution supervision.

The Agriculture Business Chamber (Agbiz) indicated that South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are likely to see a decline in grain production due to severe El Niño-induced dryness. Chief Economist at Agbiz, Wandile Sihlobo, reported that the drought has devastated close to a million hectares of maize across the southern African region, putting Zimbabwe's grain output under pressure.

“Early this year, there were concerns that approximately 2.7 million Zimbabweans could face hunger due to the drought's impact on their summer grain crops,” he said.

To mitigate food insecurity, the Zimbabwean government had previously planned to import around 1.1 million metric tons of maize.