Connect with us

In the community

‘It is a season of hunger’: Matabeleland North’s drought hit farmers fear starvation

Published

on

BY BUSANI BAFANA

Standing next to her traditional wooden maize store in Matabeleland North’s Bubi district, farmer Lindiwe Ncube gestures towards the empty compartments that spell trouble for her family’s future.

Advertisement

Last June, all five were stacked with sizeable maize cobs ready to sell.

This year, only of them is just about full after a mid-season drought ruined the harvest, leaving the 49-year-old with barely enough to feed her own family.

“This season is bad, it is a season of hunger,” Ncube told the Thomson Reuters Foundation at her home in the village of Alfalfa in Bubi district, near the nation’s second largest city Bulawayo.

Advertisement

“The maize cobs are small and I only managed to have four bags (weighing 50kg each). I will not be selling anything.”

Climate change is bringing harsher and more frequent drought to Zimbabwe, threatening the staple maize crop.

At the same time, efforts to adapt are struggling as the country contends with an economic crisis compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine.

Advertisement

Farmers in the southern African country have in recent years turned to climate-smart practices such as reducing tilling and using water-saving drip, with some growing drought-hardy grains such as sorghum.

However, Zimbabwe’s maize production is still expected to fall by 43 percent in the 2021-2022 season due to poor rainfall, a government assessment found in May.

Farmers have been ordered to sell their harvest to the state to replenish national stocks.

Advertisement

But many are holding onto their harvests because of poor yields and low prices offered by the state Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the Commercial Farmers Union said.

Officials at  the Lands and Agriculture ministry did not respond to requests by the Thomson Reuters Foundation for comment on the situation.

But the GMB and Land ministry recently announced cash incentives to try to encourage farmers to deliver their maize to the government.

Advertisement

The United Nations’ World Food Programme said in January that more than five million Zimbabweans – a third of the population – were facing hunger, and fears are rising that the government order to sell maize will only make things worse as people struggle with soaring living costs.

“This year there is trouble,” said Ncube, who last season sold 50 bags of maize to the GMB for $64,000  – enough to pay for a modest new house and her children’s school fees.

Now, “my children will be turned away from school because I have not paid their fees,” she said.

Advertisement

“I will have to do odd jobs like cleaning someone’s yard to raise money.”

Last month, the government told the GMB to ensure farmers sell their maize harvest to the state, after production for the 2021/22 season was projected at 1.56 million tonnes, down from last year’s record of 2.72 million tonnes.

Zimbabwe generally requires 2.2 million tonnes each year for human and livestock consumption, and officials have some grain remains in storage from last year’s harvest.

Advertisement

However, later in May, the Lands ministry ordered the GMB to crack down on “side-marketing” – referring to unofficial or black market maize sales – after receiving only about 5,000 tonnes of the 30,000 tonnes it anticipated had been harvested.

Farmers who do not comply and sell their maize to the state risk being prosecuted, fined, and having their grain seized, the GMB said.

“Farmers are keeping the little they harvested for their own consumption and for livestock because you cannot sell to the GMB when you cannot buy the grain later,” said Winston Babbage, vice president of the Commercial Farmers Union.

Advertisement

The union said many farmers had also been reluctant to sell their maize to the state due to the low price offered – set at $75,000 per tonne – and delayed payments.

Some farmers are putting their maize on the black market, where a tonne can sell for more than double the state price.

In a bid to address the shortfalls, the GMB last month said farmers selling maize to the state would receive 30 percent of their payment in United States dollars, seen as more reliable with the Zimbabwe dollar slumping due to inflation.

Advertisement

Earlier this month, Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said the government would offer an incentive payment of US$90 per tonne for the prompt delivery to the GMB of maize and other grains.

Harare-based economist Gift Mugano predicted food security would worsen in rural areas if farmers are not allowed to keep the maize they have harvested.

About half of the population is living in extreme poverty according to the latest government data from 2020, he said.

Advertisement

“This means 7.9 million people are living on $1.90 a day and will have difficulty in putting food on the table if you take their maize,” Mugano noted.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is struggling to tackle an economic crisis that began under former leader Robert Mugabe.

Inflation soared above 190 percent this month – its highest level in more than a year – stirring fears of a repeat of the hyperinflation that wiped out people’s savings a decade ago.

Advertisement

Analysts and aid agencies have warned that rising farming costs caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and by the pandemic could lead to fewer crops being planted and exacerbate a food crisis not just in Zimbabwe but across Africa.

Zimbabwean farmer Bongani Ndlela spent US$200 on seed and fertiliser in the previous growing season but fears this year’s poor harvest will leave him short of cash to plant a crop next season.

He harvested four bags – or 200 kg – of maize this season, down from 104 bags – or 5,200 kg – last year, the father of eight said at his home in the village of Helensvale in Bubi district.

Advertisement

“I had anticipated another bumper harvest this year, but poor rains dashed my hopes,” said the 54-year-old. “I am saving my small harvest for my family’s consumption and there is nothing to sell.”

“This year will be hard for me. I will have to sell some livestock to look after my family and settle my bills.” – Thomson Reuters Foundation

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

In the community

Painted Dog Conservation and Uncommon bring free coding school to Gwai Valley Primary

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC), in partnership with technology-driven organisation Uncommon, is set to establish a free coding school at Gwai Valley Primary in Lupane District, marking a new chapter in community empowerment and education.

Advertisement

Speaking during an interview with VicFallsLive, PDC operations director, David Kuvawoga said the initiative stems from the organisation’s long-term work with local schools through its children’s bush camps.

“In our quest to find solutions to the poaching crisis, and building on the work we’ve done with schools over the years, we identified Gwai Primary as a good location to start a coding school,” he explained. “We partnered with Uncommon, which already runs facilities in Harare and Victoria Falls, to bring this opportunity closer to rural communities.”

The school will be housed in container units equipped with computers and other necessary technology. According to PDC, the project will be led by youths from the Gwai community who underwent year-long training in Victoria Falls and are now prepared to teach children — and adults — the fundamentals of coding.

Advertisement

“This is not just for schoolchildren,” the operations director said. “Anyone in the community with the passion to learn can join. What matters is the interest and commitment, not formal qualifications.”

Importantly, the programme will be free of charge. Both organisations confirmed that tuition, equipment, and running costs are fully covered through fundraising efforts.

“No one is going to pay a cent,” he said. “Just like our bush camps, which host over a thousand children every year without charge, this coding school is fully funded. All the community needs to do is embrace it.”

Advertisement

PDC has previously supported communities through projects such as boreholes and gardens, but this marks its first major investment in technology. The director said the initiative has the potential to address unemployment, improve education, and give local youth world-class digital skills.

“Coding is a highly sought-after skill across the world,” he noted. “If young people here can learn it, they can secure jobs or even create employment for others. This is a brick in the foundation of uplifting Lupane, Hwange, and beyond.”

The coding school is expected to open in December at Gwai Valley Primary.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

In the community

Lupane police officer sentenced for tampering with mbanje evidence

Published

on

BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

A 21-year-old constabulary officer in Lupane has been convicted after admitting he tampered with evidence in a drug possession case, effectively helping a suspect conceal part of the stash.

Advertisement

The officer, Nqobile Mutale, was on duty at Lupane Terminus Base on the 18th of September when he arrested Thulani Sibanda, who had been implicated in unlawful possession of dagga/imbanje. Instead of handing over the full exhibit, Mutale struck a deal with Sibanda and hid part of the recovered drugs behind the police base.

Detectives later uncovered the hidden dagga, with Mutale leading them to the site during investigations.

Standing before the Lupane Magistrates’ Court, Mutale pleaded guilty to obstructing the course of justice. He was handed a 24-month sentence, with nine months suspended. The balance of 15 months was also suspended, provided he completes 525 hours of community service.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

In the community

Avoid nightime movement and stoning elephants, communities told

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Following a recent spate of human-wildlife conflict incidents, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo has urged communities to exercise caution when encountering wild animals.

Advertisement

Farawo emphasized the importance of avoiding confrontations with elephants, particularly when they encroach into community areas. “We would like to urge members of the communities to avoid throwing stones at elephants,” he said. “This action agitates them, leading to attacks on people.”

In addition to avoiding confrontations, Farawo advised community members to minimize movement at night, as this is when wild animals are most active. “We would like to urge communities to avoid moving at night to minimize casualties,” he said.

Farawo’s comments come after a 79-year-old man from Hwange was killed by an elephant yesterday. The incident is still under investigation by rangers. This is the second fatal incident in the area, following the death of another man who was attacked by an elephant while on his way to work in Hwange town several weeks ago.

Advertisement

 

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 VicFallsLive. All rights reserved, powered by Advantage