The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has planned a food relief programme for over 700,000 people in Zimbabwe affected by a poor harvest and the Ukraine war.
WFP Country Representative, Francesca Edelmann disclosed this in an interview with Reuters, stating that Zimbabwe’s government was also working with agencies to provide food aid for 3.8 million people.
He said, “The current administration expects its staple maize harvest to fall by nearly half this year, to 1.56 million tonnes from last season’s 2.72 million tonnes, due to poor rainfall in the 2021-2022 growing season.
“The country requires 2.2 million tonnes of maize annually for human and livestock consumption.
“We have budgeted $40m for the food aid programme to cushion millions over the peak of the hunger season from October, when poor households run out of food stocks, to March when harvesting starts.
“I do not think this is famine as yet, but that does not mean that it is good. We are preparing for a response that will take off from October up to March. We are working with the government on a joint plan for the food deficit mitigation programme and that is for 3.8 million people”.
The number of food insecure people had shot up from 2.9 million to 3.8 million, warning that more households could go hungry as grain stocks dwindle.