As the drought decimates food yields, lower growth is predicted for Zimbabwe – finmin

As the worst drought in decades damages crop output in southern Africa, Zimbabwe has revised its economic growth prediction downward, its finance minister said Reuters on Wednesday. However, a recovery in growth is expected in 2025.

The El Niño-induced drought has resulted in widespread crop failure, and as a result, the government has reduced its forecasted growth to 2% for 2024 from 3.5% in November, according to Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube.

El Niño is a climate event that occurs naturally whereby the surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific become abnormally warm, leading to modifications in worldwide weather patterns.

The drought in Zimbabwe is one of the worst in the region, affecting crop harvests. The drought has led to the declaration of disasters in neighboring Malawi and Zambia.

In addition, the IMF predicted last month that Zimbabwe’s growth would slow to 2% from 5.3% in the previous year.

“We are all downgrading our growth targets for 2024 because of deeper than expected impact on our agriculture, but next year is brighter,” Ncube explained.

He also stated that growth is anticipated to rebound to above 5% in 2025.
The Zimbabwean government predicted in May that the 2023–2024 season’s staple maize crop will decrease by 72%.

According to Ncube, the country’s agricultural output has been impacted by the drought, and 1.4 million metric tons of grain imports are anticipated.

Zimbabwe last week got approximately $32 million in drought insurance from an African Union body, helping to alleviate hunger throughout the nation. Additionally, the government has made a request for food assistance from foreign donors.

The mid-term budget review will be presented by Ncube later this month.