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Made's claims put to the test
Kumbirai Mafunda, The Financial Gazette
May 24, 2006

http://www.fingaz.co.zw/story.aspx?stid=1198

ZIMBABWE'S Agriculture Minister Joseph Made's claims of a bumper maize harvest this season comes under scrutiny when some multilateral organisations conclude a food insecurity and vulnerability assessment survey next week.

Government and international relief agency sources told The Financial Gazette this week that the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (Zimvac), which is a collaborative effort by United Nations agencies, the government and donors, had at long last commenced the comprehensive food vulnerability assessment. The exercise will determine the extent of food insecurity and vulnerable households across the country and whether outside assistance is required to close the food gap.

Sources said the exercise, which is expected to last for 10 days, began last Saturday with the collection of crucial data in the country's 10 provinces.

"The fieldwork is ongoing now and we are going to determine the number of people and areas to focus resources on," said the sources.

The vulnerability and food security assessment and monitoring has traditionally focused on rural areas where teacher unions report that schoolchildren are dropping out of school because of starvation. This time around it will also cover the urban population in response to concerns about the growing number of poor households in urban areas.

Despite Made's claims of a bumper harvest after the government cancelled a UN-led crop assessment in April, aid agency sources say they are determined to test Made's claims during their 10-day survey by gaining a clearer picture of household vulnerability in the country's 10 provinces. They say with the changing political, economic and social conditions in Zimbabwe, it is ever more important to understand and monitor people's vulnerability.

The results of the Zimvac assessment, which are expected to be released in July, will help in the design of effective responses or pre-emptive actions to keep urban populations above a minimum threshold of food security.

Critics say the Zimvac survey could leave egg on the face of Made who recently told a parliamentary portfolio committee on agriculture that Zimbabwe would this season harvest 1.8 million metric tonnes of maize - enough to feed the citizens of the crisis wrecked country despite. Independent food monitoring agencies have however projected another crop deficit.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and FEWSNET have jointly projected that crop output this year is far short of consumption needs, putting Zimbabwe's crop harvest at between 800 000 metric tonnes and 900 000 tonnes - about half the annual national requirements.

In their preliminary crop forecasts, food monitoring agencies report that most districts are expected to report crop failures caused by poor planning and the shortages of critical inputs in the 2005/06 growing season. Food insecurity has been exacerbated by the country's seven-year-old economic crisis, in which the minimum wage covers a small percentage of basic household expenditure. According to FEWSNET, poor families have so far survived by "borrowing, reducing the number and size of meals and skipping meals on some days".

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