Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. FAMINE monitors believe Zimbabwe will most likely experience a delayed onset of the lean season in most areas as household food stocks are likely to last longer than normal due to the favourable 2025 harvest.
The Famine Early Warning System Network (FewsNet) states that below-average food prices are expected to support access to food for poor households.
“However, households in some districts within typical deficit-producing areas are expected to exhaust their own-produced food stocks by December.
“In these areas, poor households will likely face decreased access to market foods in late 2025,” FewsNet said in an analysis released last Friday.
“Food assistance needs are expected to steadily increase through at least December.
“However, the needs are likely to be significantly lower than last year, though likely to trend at near normal levels.
“The above-average 2025 harvest, supported by the generally favourable October 2024 to March 2025 seasonal rainfall, significantly improved household access to food countrywide.”
The monitors said the 2025 harvest is expected to support household food access through at least December 2025.
All this spells good news for now.
But let’s only wait until we hear that our yields were not pleasing.
A few days ago, Japan donated JPY200 million (approximately US$1,3 million) to support 32 000 vulnerable people with nutritious food assistance in Zimbabwe.
The Asian country said the contribution would assist the World Food Programme deliver cereals, pulses and vegetable oil, ensuring that families have access to basic nutrition during the January to March lean season, the time between harvests, when food supplies are typically at their lowest.
Also early this week, China donated about 1 500 tonnes of rice and 750 tonnes of wheat, which it said the food will go a long way in helping vulnerable citizens.
Food aid in Zimbabwe was an ongoing area of funding for United States Agency for International Development.
In November 2024, the agency announced US$130 million for two seven-year programmes, implemented by CARE and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, that would provide food aid and other related support to areas of Zimbabwe most in need.
All these countries know of the potential Zimbabwe has in food self-sustenance, but are alive to the fact that the southern African country will always fail to be up to the task.
Despite reports that this year’s yields were far much higher than last year’s, there is a very high chance that come early next year, there will be families that will be facing hunger and starvation.
Unfortunately, our social services are not doing well either. The Social Welfare department has undergone years of underfunding.
We should not be surprised in the November to mid-January season when some familvies starve and government is ill-prepared to assist them, considering that we have more often relied on foreign funding.
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