Zimbabwe’s Agriculture minister, Anxious Masuka, Tuesday insisted that the southern African country had enough grain stocks amid fears of looming shortages.
The government has also maintained that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) remains the sole buyer and seller of the staple food.
Speaking during a post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare, Masuka said:
Coming to whether or not we have sufficient grains, yes we do. We have actually received a request from social welfare indicating that we require 35 000 tonnes monthly for (Department of) Social Welfare, and we are able to do that.
Certainly, we have more than that in the strategic grain reserves, that is the clarity we have. Our grain stocks are enough, let be more candid.
His remarks come after the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) said Zimbabwe will import 400 000 tonnes of white maize from neighbouring Zambia and Malawi as the country faces a reduced harvest this year blamed on erratic rains.
Zimbabwe has faced food insecurity since the turn of the century when it seized white-owned farms. The country has also endured frequent droughts over the years, with conditions expected to worsen as temperatures rise due to climate change.