UN food agency gives a helping hand to farmers in Zimbabwe

In a bid to tackle hunger in Zimbabwe, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will give farmers a boost in the African nation boost by distributing seeds and fertilizers, it was announced today.

Representing between 10 and 15 per cent of farmers in the country, some 176,000 vulnerable farmers will benefit from the scheme carried out in concert with the European Union (EU).

Each farmer will receive enough maize or sorghum seeds and fertilizer – to be provided in time for the upcoming agricultural season which kicks off at the end of this month – to plant a 0.5 hectare lot.

“With good seasonal rains, timely implementation and effective coordination, farmers’ production in Zimbabwe could feasibly more than double this season, compared to the previous year’s national average production level,” said Jean-Claude Urvoy, FAO’s Emergency Coordinator in Zimbabwe.

The EU, through its Food Facility, has committed €1 billion over three years to quickly respond on a large scale to global hunger exacerbated by high food prices and the global economic crisis.

Funds from the initiative are channelled through UN agencies and other organizations, with FAO having received €200 million for work in 25 countries, of which €15 million is earmarked for Zimbabwe.

“Many farmers in Zimbabwe can’t afford to buy enough inputs,” Mr. Urvoy said, adding that EU funding will allow vulnerable planters to move past subsistence to having surplus crops to sell for basic households needs, including paying for their children’s school fees.

Last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the situation in the country remains acute, with not enough food to feed all 12.5 million Zimbabweans and funding requirements to provide urgently-needed aid only half met.

According to an assessment by the FAO, World Food Programme (WFP) and Zimbabwean Government, only 1.4 million tons of cereal will be available domestically, compared to the more than 2 million needed. Even with commercial imports, there will be a 180,000 ton cereal deficit for 2009-2010.