About 26 percent of rural Zimbabweans to be food insecure in 2024- ZimVAC

Harare (New Ziana)-At least 2.7 million Zimbabweans in rural areas are projected to be food insecure during the peak hunger period between January and March next year, a study has found.

According to the latest Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) 2023 report, slightly more than 100 000 metric tons of cereal would be required to feed the estimated insecure population.

“During the peak hunger period (January to March 2024), 26 percent of the rural population is projected to be food insecure. This translates to 2,715,717 people. At least 100,482 MT of cereal will be required to feed the food insecure population during the peak hunger period,” said the ZimVAC.

The committe said compared to 2020, cereal insecurity has decreased in Zimbabwe.

“This reduction is worth noting and the Government is commended for the continued commitment towards achieving one of the country’s goals in the NDS1, particularly of ensuring a food surplus economy.

“Compared to 2022, food insecurity has generally decreased across all the provinces except for Mashonaland Central,” it said.

According to the Zimvac report, at least 82 percent of the households grew maize, 41 percent grew groundnuts and 27 percent grew tubers while at least 47 percent were practising the Pfumvudza/Intwasa concept.

The committee commended the government and development partners for maintaining consistency in their support to the vulnerable population.

“Government-led social assistance increased from 61 percent to 66 percent in 2023, indicating increased coverage of support for vulnerable communities. UN/NGOs also provided. The major forms of support received by households from the Government were crop inputs (54.6 percent) and food (29.2 percent) while the major forms of support provided by the UN/NGOs were food (9 percent) and crop inputs (1.6 percent),” it said.

New Ziana