Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWE is facing a favourable consecutive rainy season, according to the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET).
The leading provider of early warning and analysis on acute food insecurity around the world said following the favourable 2025 cereal harvest, most rural households in both typical surplus and deficit-producing areas continue to access food from own-produced stocks.
It estimated that the harvests will likely support household food access in most areas through to at least the end of the year, representing a significant improvement in food security conditions from the same time last year.
“By the end of 2025, an increasing number of households in deficit-producing areas will likely deplete their own-produced food stocks and increase market reliance to access food,” the analysts said.
“Low-income urban households — who are mainly market dependent — will most likely continue to face food access challenges due to low, irregular and mainly informal sector income negatively affecting purchasing power, compounded by the high rental, utility, transport and other costs.
“While humanitarian assistance needs are expected in late 2025 into early 2026, the level of food assistance needed is anticipated to be lower than both last year and average.”
They said income from ongoing crop sales was relatively low due to below-normal market demand, as many rural households were primarily consuming own-produced food.
“Currently, there are insignificant to no grain flows from typical surplus- to deficit-producing areas, a scenario only seen following very favourable harvests when very few private traders typically would purchase grain from farmers in surplus areas for immediate sale to deficit areas or for speculative reasons,” FEWS NET said.
“However, the movement of grain is likely to begin around October as more households start to deplete their stocks in deficit-producing areas and start relying on markets for grain.
“The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has reportedly opened around 1 800 ward-based grain collection depots across the country to encourage farmers to sell to the GMB by facilitating easy delivery and lowering transportation costs for farmers.
“This year, the government liberalised the marketing of maize grain, with the GMB no longer the authorised sole buyer of grain from farmers.”
Last week, the government said it was monitoring and intervening in areas that were facing grain shortages after it emerged that some districts like Mwenezi were already experiencing food shortages despite improved yields after the 2024/25 agricultural season.
Zimbabwe suffered severe food shortages after the devastating effects of the El Niño-induced drought during the 2023/24 season.
During post-Cabinet Press briefing last week, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister Jenfan Muswere said Zimbabwe’s updated food balance sheet to March 2026 indicated that there was adequate grain at national level, albeit cautioning that local shortages were likely to be experienced in some areas.
“Already, government has disbursed 30 metric tonnes of grain to the San community in Tsholotsho in response to localised shortages,” Muswere said.
Tsholotsho is among the several districts that suffer from perennial food shortages, including Muzarabani, Buhera, Chiredzi, Mberengwa, Mudzi, Gwanda, Binga, Mwenezi and Beitbridge.
In the recent update, FEWS NET said the 2025 tobacco and cotton marketing seasons had officially ended, with a record 353 million kilogrammes of tobacco having been sold by farmers this season, nearly 50% higher than the five-year average and earning US$1,2 billion, bolstering household incomes.
Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s second-highest foreign currency earner after gold.
“Around 28 000 MT [metric tonnes] of cotton were marketed this season, slightly more than double last season,” FEWS NET said.
“The production of winter wheat is on course; the area planted has reportedly surpassed the target of 120 000 hectares by about 2%.
“In recent years, wheat has been declared part of the country’s strategic grain reserves and is increasingly used for humanitarian food assistance distributions.”
The analysts said according to key informants, maize grain prices in both surplus- and deficit-producing areas were around 50% lower than the same time last year due to the above-average harvest and low market demand.
“There are currently very slight maize grain price differences between surplus- and deficit-producing areas,” FEWS NET said.
“The prices are likely to marginally increase through the start of the peak lean season in January 2026, but will likely remain lower than last year and near the five-year average.
“Despite lower demand, maize meal prices have remained similar to last year and the five-year average, probably due to some commercial millers still using residual imported stocks ahead of the procurement of local 2025 stocks.”
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