Zimbabwe has received approximately $32 million in drought relief aid, but this may not cover at least 70% of the country’s 60 districts, which are estimated to be cereal insecure by the end of the month.
The country received $31.8 million from the African Risk Capacity (ARC) 2023/24 Drought Insurance Payout. The government got $16.8 million, complemented by payments to Zimbabwe’s ARC replica partners, the World Food Programme (WFP) and Start Network, receiving $6.1 million and $8.9 million, respectively.
These funds are expected to cover 29 districts across the nation. However, the government indicated that 42 out of 60 rural districts have just three months of cereal self-sufficiency for the 2024/25 consumption year.
Zimbabwe faces an acute food shortage following an El-Niño-induced drought, which will see more than half of the country’s population requiring food aid. The government has revised its food relief funding appeal from $2 billion to $3 billion, painting a gloomy picture despite claims that no one will die of hunger.
In April, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared the drought a national disaster to marshal resources from aid agencies and development partners. In May, Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka stated that the 2023/24 Summer Crop Marketing and Food Security Outlook indicated that close to eight million people would need food aid, representing more than half of the population.
A 2022 census conducted by the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency revealed that Zimbabwe’s population was 15,178,979. UNICEF reported that 4,270 children had been treated for wasting between January and April this year.
In its Food Security Outlook report, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FewsNet) said most households in Zimbabwe had very little to no own-produced food stocks following a poor harvest. “Many households are expected to have exhausted their own-produced cereal stocks by July, marking an early start to the 2024/25 lean season,” the report noted.
The report also indicated that water availability is expected to be well below normal. Households are expected to rely mainly on boreholes for water for domestic, livestock, and other livelihood uses. The households are reliant on market purchases or humanitarian assistance for food.
Additionally, very few households have cereal stocks from the 2023 harvest, as this was either consumed or sold during the previous year. Other food crops are also largely unavailable. The Ministry of Agriculture reported that production of groundnuts, round nuts, sugar beans, sweet potatoes, and cowpeas was around 70 to 80% lower than last year. Cash crop production was similarly affected by El Niño, with the tobacco harvest declining to around 235,000 metric tonnes compared to around 295,000 metric tonnes in 2023.
Almost all typical deficit-producing areas in the south, west, and extreme north of the country are expected to experience crisis outcomes driven by the poor 2023/24 harvests. The national annual cereal deficit for the 2024/25 marketing year is expected to be higher than the five-year average. The government and private sector are expected to import grain to meet national food needs.
National cereal grain prices will likely be higher than last year and the five-year average throughout the outlook period. Very marginal to no seasonal price declines are expected this year. An earlier-than-normal resurgence of price increases is expected in the post-harvest period due to increased market demand and low supplies.
Meanwhile, during the payout ceremony in Harare, Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube said Zimbabwe became a member of the ARC agency in 2012. The agency offers innovative disaster risk financing solutions and helps member states develop contingent measures for natural disasters. This ensures food security and the livelihoods of vulnerable populations.
Ncube highlighted the motivation behind Zimbabwe’s participation in the ARC drought insurance risk pool for the 2019/20 agricultural season, where a premium of $1 million was paid for the ARC drought insurance cover. The drought experienced during the 2019/20 agricultural season triggered a payout amount of $1.4 million to the government, while the World Food Programme replica policy received $290,000.
Ncube said more than 180,000 households in highly vulnerable districts benefited from the payout. The government has also been acquiring sovereign policies, complemented by replica policies from the World Food Programme and Start Network. He announced that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees expressed interest in becoming an ARC replica partner for Zimbabwe, increasing the number of replica partners to three, the highest in Africa. This will increase the number of households covered under the drought sovereign policy.
ARC group representative Anthony Maruping acknowledged that the payout might not fully resolve the situation but will significantly alleviate the suffering of vulnerable populations. “It serves as a reminder to continue collaborating and investing in the ARC mechanism by mobilizing more resources for capacity building, premium financing, and increasing the uptake of the replica initiative,” he said.
African Development Bank (AfDB) country director for Zimbabwe, Moono Mupotola, commended the government’s contribution to ARC. She added that AfDB had mobilized more than $150 million for ex-ante climate risk financing.
WRP country director Francesca Erdelmann said the United Nations agency would step up its traditional response to the country’s seasonal assistance, supporting vulnerable communities in Zimbabwe. “In our fight against hunger, climate risk financing is essential. We aim to see instruments like ARC well integrated into government-led disaster risk management processes and social protection programs,” she said.
Source: Newsday
