UN beckons on donors to assist in Zimbabwe food crisis

NaijaAgroNet.

THE United Nations (UN) is approaching donors to raise about $60m to help alleviate a rapidly worsening food crisis in Zimbabwe, as this season’s woeful harvest leaves more than 2-million people in need of food assistance, reports

Zimbabwe, NaijaAgroNet recalls has been experiencing an extensive migration of farmers ditching the production of staple crops such as maize in favour of cash crops, such as tobacco, and this is quickly raising the import bill for food.

Sory Ouane, country director of the UN World Food Programme in Zimbabwe, disclosed that the UN has budgeted $86m for its food assistance programme to June this year in order to feed 1.8-million of those in need, but despite some "generous contributions" from donors, the fund had a $60m shortfall.

The Portfolio manager, Investec Asset Management, Roelof Horne, blamed the lack of clarity over property titles after the land grabs in the 2000s as holding back investment in agriculture in that country.

Zimbabwe was once known as the bread basket of Africa but has seen its economy shrink by half since 1980 as a result of indigenisation and the farm invasions.

However, tobacco is making a comeback again to levels near 200-million kilograms, last seen a decade ago.

"It’s a mess. I think Zimbabwe will be an agriculture power again, but there are complex issues to resolve first," said Mr Horne.

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Strengthen family farming, solve global agro puzzle - Sonnleitner

The United Nations (UN) Goodwill Ambassador of the International Year of Family Farming and World Farmers Organisation (WFO) Member, Mr Gerd Sonnleitner, has declared that strengthening family farming is the answer to global challenges in agriculture, reports NaijaAgroNet.

He made this known to NaijaAgroNet at the occasion of the 14^th Asian Farmers’ Group for Cooperation (AFGC), saying that as a family farmer himself, “It is a sustainable, flexible and resilient model, especially with regards to achieving food security.”

Sonnleitner said he could understand from his own experience the role family farmers play - not only for the development of domestic markets but also with regards to international trade.

“They need to be adequately supported, as the economic risk and the responsibility lie in their hands – especially through the development of policies which favour them,” he said.

The 2-day-event which ended at Saturday, March 1, 2014 was hosted by the Cooperative League of Thailand (CLT) in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that it is co-organised by the Japanese farmers’ organization JA Zenchu which provides the permanent secretariat of the AFGC, offering opportunity to exchange information and experiences and to promote cooperation amongst the participating member organizations.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that AFGC is a platform for farmers organizations was established in 1999 in Tokyo. Members are national farmer and cooperative organizations from nine countries in the Asian monsoon region (India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam). Small-scale family farming is the main model in agriculture in these countries.

Isaac Oyimah/SA/GEE

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