ZIMBABWE* (12 October)
Planting of the main season crops usually starts in October. However, prospects for the upcoming agricultural season at this time look bleak as serious problems with availability and delivery of key inputs such as seeds and fertilizer along with lack of sufficient fuel, transportation facilities and draught power are reported. With sharply declining numbers of draught animals, very few working tractors and continuing diesel shortages, much land cultivation is likely to be dependent on manual labour and hand hoes.
Normally Zimbabwe requires about 50 000 tonnes of maize seed. Current domestic production has been estimated at 30 000 tonnes, and the Government is reported to be in negotiations with seed companies to import another 20 000 tonnes. NGOs and other agencies are also expected to import small quantities of seed. However, timely seed distribution to individual farmers across the country would imply more extensive transport facilities than are available right now.
Domestic capacity for fertilizer production has sharply decreased. Normal production capacity is about 140 000 tonnes/year. However, due to the lack of foreign currency to import raw materials, domestic production will be very limited this coming season. The Government is reportedly issuing tenders to import 100 000 tonnes of CAN fertilizer at an estimated cost of US$ 40 million, but even if these are imported, timely distribution to farmers at affordable prices will be a major challenge.
The 2005 production of maize, the main staple food crop, has been put at about 600 000 tonnes, compared to over 2 million tonnes in 2000. Import requirement is estimated at over 1 million tonnes of cereals but commercial import capacity of the country is severely constrained by falling foreign exchange reserves and reduced revenues from this year’s tobacco sales. By early October 2005 about 510 000 tonnes of grain had been received/contracted, primarily from South Africa. Very little, only about 1 400 tonnes, have been recorded through informal cross border channels. Additional unrecorded food imports in the form of remittances from relatives from South Africa are said to have occurred.
Access to food in many areas is severely hampered by scarcity of grain either from farmers/traders or from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), and problems of transport and fuel supplies in the country. This has resulted in sharp and continuous price increases in most markets. Between June and September this year maize prices increased from Z$ 1 100 to Z$ 2 200/kg in the north-central part of the country and from Z$ 3 890 to Z$5 560/kg in the south (FAO and FEWSNET). The annual inflation in September reached 360 percent, up from 124 percent in March due to rises in fuel and food prices, and depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar. According to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) basic cost for an urban family of six had shot up by 43 percent, in local currency, from September to October. The continuing hyper inflation combined with extremely high levels of unemployment, is greatly limiting access to food, putting up to 5 million people at risk of food insecurity. In a change in Government policy, on 29 September WFP received an official Government authorization to distribute food in 49 districts around the country. An estimated 3 million people will receive monthly rations of cereals and pulses. WFP has received US$ 86 million, equivalent to over 165 000 tonnes (about 55 percent of needs).