According to the cabinet, more than half of Zimbabweans will require food assistance

The country’s cabinet was informed late on Tuesday that over half of Zimbabwe’s population will require food help this year due to a severe drought that caused widespread crop failure. Humanitarian organizations are requesting funding to prevent people from going hungry.

The Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee estimates that 1.7 million individuals in urban areas and 6 million people in rural regions will need help (ZIMLAC).

In Southern Africa, Zimbabwe is one of the most severely affected nations by the El Nino-caused drought; Zambia and Malawi are also experiencing food shortages this year.

The government claims that this drought is the worst Zimbabwe has seen in forty years.
The most recent crop estimate, which was sent to the Zimbabwean Cabinet, also increased the country’s predicted maize production deficit from last week to 77%.

“A 77% reduction in production to 744,271 metric tons is estimated for the 2023/2024 summer season, indicating a major shortfall for both food and stock feed,” according to a brief to the cabinet.

To make up for the shortfall in food, a group of private millers in the area intend to import 1.4 million metric tonnes of white and yellow corn from Brazil and other nations.

To prevent millions of people from going hungry, the United Nations and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have made financial appeals.

It comes after the government requested $2 billion in food aid from donors and well-wishers.

Since 2000, Zimbabwe has been unable to feed its own population due to land reforms implemented by previous president Robert Mugabe that interrupted production and made it harder for the nation to grow adequate food. This is a result of climate change.