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CWS
appeal: Zimbabwe food crisis
Church World
Service
September 22,
2008
http://www.churchworldservice.org/news/archives/2008/09/946.html
Situation:
A ban on agencies involved in humanitarian and development work
was recently lifted in Zimbabwe, and Action by Churches Together
International members there, including CWS partner Christian
Care, are preparing to scale up their response to the food crisis
in Zimbabwe. This appeal to support Christian Care focuses on programs
to deliver badly needed aid in the sectors of general food aid,
school feeding, food recovery and psychosocial support.
It should be
noted that Zimbabwe is caught in a complex and critical humanitarian
crisis affecting a great proportion of the country's population.
This crisis stems from the collapse of the economy, severe food
insecurity, an all-time low in basic service delivery, political
stalemate, and the underlying political atmosphere that has caused
the internal displacement of thousands of people.
On the economic
front, the country has experienced a cumulative 50 percent decline
in GDP over the last decade--the worst for a country not at war.
A world record hyper-inflation of more than 20 million percent (unofficial)
shows no sign of receding. Over 85 percent of the population is
unemployed, with almost 90 percent of them subsisting below the
poverty line ($1 per day).
It is estimated
that 2.04 million people will experience food insecurity through
this month, and that number is expected to rise to 3.8 million people
in October peaking to about 5.1 million people between January and
March 2009. This population will require food assistance amounting
to 395,000 tons of cereals in 2008-09.
CWS response:
Christian Care works in the Zvishavane District, where in 2007-8
it worked with 400 households benefiting from a CWS-supported program
of conservation farming training. In this appeal the project component
beneficiaries will now be increased to 600 households (in four wards)
and to 900 in 2009-10.
In addition,
this CWS-supported program will alleviate short-term food insecurity
for 26,900 particularly vulnerable persons during the most critical
period (between October of this year and April 2009) by building
up crop productivity and food security through conservation farming
training, and offering relief and rehabilitation to persons affected
and displaced by the political violence during the first half of
2008 in selected districts of Zimbabwe.
CWS support
for this effort is not only needed on its own merits and for supporting
a partner agency in a difficult moment in Zimbabwe's history but
also underlines CWS's response to a world-wide problem of food insecurity.
Proposed
assistance:
- Vulnerable
Group Feeding (Gutu and Mwenezi Districts, located in the southern
province of Masvingo). The proposed activities include providing
monthly food rations to 26,900 food insecure people in Gutu and
Mwenezi Districts comprising 10kg of maize, 600ml of cooking oil
and 2kg pulses (beans) per person. The program will last for seven
months from October to April 2009.
- Agricultural
Recovery Component (Zvishavane District in the Midlands province
in central Zimbabwe). The agricultural recovery component of the
project in Zvishavane District is aimed at assisting vulnerable
farmers to rebuild their production capacities and to adapt to
the adverse impact of climate change. That will be achieved through
introduction of crop production innovations such as conservation
farming, food processing, preservation and storage. This component
of the program will also provide the communities with nutrition
and health education. Unlike the food aid component of this program
in Gutu and Mwenezi districts, which will be implemented over
a period of seven months, the recovery component will require
a longer time--12 months--to allow time for households to learn
and adopt the new innovations.
Each household
participating in the program will work on two plots, each measuring
50m by 50m, one for conservation farming and another one for conventional
farming. The idea is for each farmer to practically observe difference
in practices and the subsequent results from conservation and conventional
farming techniques.
Crop inputs
comprising seed and fertilizers will be distributed to 600 households
in the four wards of Zvishavane District. Each farmer will receive
10 kg of open pollinated varieties (OPV) maize seed; 50 kg of basal
fertilizers, as well as 50 kg of ammonium nitrate fertilisers. The
project will provide adequate training to ensure that farmers grasp
the conservation farming practices and seed production techniques.
Budget:
Total budget is $2,352,319 of which $1,652,319 is being requested
of CWS and other ACT members. Of the amount of $1,652,319 being
requested, $1,579,366 is for food aid related costs and $72,953
is for administrative costs.
Contributions
to support this emergency appeal may be made online or by phone
(800-297-1516), or sent to your denomination or to Church World
Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. Please designate: 2008
ZIMBABWE FOOD SECURITY (#642-C).
Media
contact: Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net
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