MUTARE Villagers in Buhera have appealed to donors for food assistance after failing to produce anything in their fields marking another year of drought. (Pictured: Buhera crops a write-off)
The farming season ended recently and most small-scale farmers have confirmed that they did not produce anything in the fields. In a recent tour of the area with the Zimbabwe Food Assessment Board (ZFAB), Chief Kandenga Nyashanu, said most of the crops in the area were a write-off.
I can predict that this year is even worse than last year. In my own survey I have noticed that almost all homesteads do not have satisfactory crops. I have not seen a single homestead that says the crops are better. The rains were erratic and there were fertilizer shortages. This is why our crops are a complete write-off, Chief Nyashanu said.
The concerned villagers have urged the donors to immediately prepare a major drought relief programme to avert hunger.
Nyashanu called for the establishment of irrigation schemes to mitigate the effects of recurrent droughts. Joseph Mazaiwana, ZFAB Programmes Director said they would complete a post-harvest food assessment at the end of this month. “The situation on the ground is not good and we are saying there is need to support communal farmers by different means. We have since approached different stakeholders so that we help the Villagers,” Mazaiwana said.
Villagers in Buhera said the situation was compounded by the fact that they had not stored anything because the last season had been bad. Moses Machona a subsistence farmer said: I can foresee another drought year. I do not have anything in my fields. I have to wait for next farming season. We now hope that the donor community will rescue us from hunger.
The ZFAB, which currently runs food security and livelihood programmes in the province to assist the less-privileged, said it had launched an appeal to the World Food Programme for assistance.
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