Published by the government of Zimbabwe
20 August 2008
Harare — VILLAGERS in Buhera are appealing for urgent food assistance following a prolonged dry spell that destroyed crops during the last summer cropping season.
Speaking at a meeting with Zanu-PF leaders in the district, villagers said most farmers had failed to harvest anything during the 2007/08 agricultural season.
A traditional leader in the area, Chief Mbaira, said the district was in dire need of maize for families that are faced with starvation.
"The rains were erratic and many parts of the district received little or no rain at all and some families failed to harvest anything during the season," he said.
Chief Mbaira urged the Government to urgently intervene before the situation turned into a disaster, adding that not everyone accessed maize that was distributed in the district recently.
"There are families that have been waiting for the arrival of maize to be distributed by Government and have not got any," he said.
He urged the Government to monitor the distribution of maize so that all people benefit from its programme.
Other villagers said the Government has to move fast to avert a possible crisis in the area.
"There are shops selling some basic commodities but most of the groceries are beyond the reach of many villagers. Some shops have had sugar and mealie-meal but the prices are just too high.
"We urgently need Government intervention so that we get some of the basic
commodities at affordable prices," they said.
Addressing the villagers, Zanu-PF youth league secretary for administration Cde Tapiwa Zengeya said Government programmes such as Bacossi would soon be launched in the district.
He said villagers would also receive agricultural inputs for the forthcoming season while efforts were underway to distribute maize to people in the area.
Distribution of farming implements such as ox-drawn ploughs, scotch carts, harrows and cultivators started on Monday.
"Basic commodities will be distributed to the people and more maize is being sourced from neighbouring countries to feed the people before the start of the agricultural season," he said.
Cde Zengeya assured villagers that everyone would benefit from the Government programmes irrespective of their political affiliation.
Buhera district, which falls under the Natural Region Five, receives less rainfall than most parts of the country.
The district has also been classified as one of the most impoverished in the country and perennially requiring food aid from the Government and other donors.
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