Politics worsens agriculture heartbreak

Drought-hit small farmers paying high price for Mugabe-European Union standoff

INTERNATIONAL politics is threatening to worsen the drought situation in Zimbabwe, which is already facing devastation of its agricultural sector generally regarded as being more critical than in South Africa.

A typical example of the major distress is in the dusty village of Mafomoti in southern Zimbabwe‚ where farmers have already lost cattle and crops in the most severe drought to hit the nation in a quarter of a century. And the worst may be yet to come.

Midway through the farming season‚ the fields around the village are normally green at this time of the year but now they lie barren.

Residents, who should be looking forward to the harvest in late March‚ are instead awaiting its failure and wondering how to make do with meagre supplies of food aid.

Jesta Kugarira, 65, said: “It will not take us far so we will have to eat sparingly.”

Apart from a few showers in mid-January‚ it has not rained in Mafomoti since September‚ and her maize and other crops have been destroyed.

Kugarira‚ who has 12 children and grandchildren, aged from three to 24‚ said her family was surviving on one meal a day.

She has just 6kg of cereal‚ 2kg of beans and some vegetable oil that she has received from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to keep them fed for a month.

The drought is likely to damage harvests across southern Africa and about 14 million people are at risk‚ the WFP says.

But whereas South Africa is wealthy enough to tackle the problem of food shortages‚ the impact is looking particularly serious for Zimbabwe‚ where 70% of the population still survive on farming.

Zimbabwe’s economy has been struggling for five years to recover from a catastrophic recession, marked by billionper cent hyperinflation and widespread food shortages.

Strained relations between President Robert Mugabe and aid donors like the European Union have complicated matters.

Agriculture is critical to Zimbabwe’s economy‚ generating 30% of export earnings and contributing 19% to gross domestic product (GDP).

But a report by the government and aid agencies last year said 16% of Zimbabwe’s population of 13 million would require food by March this year.

Harare plans to import up to 700 000 tons of maize and has secured a $200-million (R3.3-billion) loan for this.

The EU has urged Mugabe’s government to declare a food emergency‚ allowing international donors to raise money quickly. So far, Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said only that Harare is already providing food imports but is open to assistance.

The EU‚ which imposed sanctions in 2002 over electoral fraud and human rights abuses‚ has renewed measures including a travel ban and asset freeze on Mugabe and his wife until at least March.

Meanwhile, the villagers of Mafomoti and hundreds of other areas suffer.