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Zimbabwe is likely to receive less than average rainfall leading to a drought in the 2023/24 cropping season due to the El Niño climate phenomenon.
El Niño refers to a warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
El Niño can make extreme weather events more likely in certain regions, including extreme heat, droughts, storms and flooding.
A drought will most likely slow down Zimbabwe’s economic growth projections, trigger higher food prices and stoke inflation.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in July this year declared the start of El Niño.
WMO estimated there is a 90 percent probability of the El Niño event persisting through the second half of the year and it is expected to be “at least moderate strength”.
According to the UN weather agency, El Niño occurs on average every two to seven years in episodes lasting nine to 12 months.
Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Madagascar are listed among countries in Southern Africa as highly exposed nations to El Niño.
According to ACAPS, a non-profit, non-governmental project that provides international, independent humanitarian analysis:
<blockquote>
Zimbabwe is a country that requires close monitoring and where the effects of El Niño may lead to negative outcomes or generate humanitarian needs.
Forecast models anticipate the possibility of below-average rainfall towards the end of 2023, particularly in the central and southern regions.
Such forecasts would affect the region’s planting seasons, increasing the possibility of hardened drought conditions and affecting the country’s crop production, livestock and food security.
This forecast would pattern with previous El Niño events in Zimbabwe. In 2015–2016, an El Niño-driven drought affected most of Zimbabwe.
Below-average rainfall during the usual growing season led to crop failure, increased food prices, and heightened levels of food insecurity throughout the country.
</blockquote>
Meanwhile, La Niña refers to the periodic cooling of sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific and the weather phenomenon is associated with wetter summers in Zimbabwe. 
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Zimbabwe Faces Drought As El Niño Returns

A local agronomist, Davison Masendeke, has advised farmers in drought-prone areas to grow traditional grains such as millet, sorghum, and others in the 2022-2023 cropping season as they are more drought-tolerant compared to maize.
Weather forecasters have projected normal to above-normal rainfall for Zimbabwe in the current cropping season but its distribution pattern remains unknown.
Masendeke said farmers should prioritise the growing of traditional grains as maize cannot withstand seasonal drought spells that are increasingly becoming common. He said:
<blockquote>
The importance of growing crops such as millet and sorghum is in that these are traditional grains.
They (traditional grains) are drought resistant in that they originate in Africa and can withstand the climate of the continent.
Secondly, rainfall patterns have changed unlike in the past when we would receive enough rain throughout the cropping season until crops such as maize would mature.
Rainfall distribution is no longer predictable.
The rainy season no longer begins at the usual time that we have always known, rains now delay a little bit.
Again during the course of the season, we usually experience a dry spell.
Crops such as maize cannot withstand a dry spell like sorghum which explains why farmers should prioritise such crops.
During a dry spell, crops such as millet have a tendency of stopping growing and only resume after rains.
The importance of growing such grains is in that they are able to withstand dry spells. 
We now have shorter rainy seasons meaning to say early maturing crops can give a farmer a better harvest.
</blockquote>
| <a href="https://cite.org.zw/prioritise-traditional-grains-expert-urges-matland-farmers/">CITE</a>

Matabeleland Farmers Advised To Prioritise Traditional Grains

The Government says it is compiling information that will inform its response to food shortages affecting rural households.
Speaking in Parliament recently, Public Service, Labour, and Social Welfare Minister Paul Mavima said the Government will use the latest Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZIMVAC) report to design its intervention. He said:
<blockquote>
We have just received the ZIMVAC report for the rural areas and we are using that information on vulnerability, including even temporary food insecurity to come up with a program for food-deficit mitigation.
… It is a matter that we are really seized with right now because we know the desperate situation that some communities are in at the moment.
</blockquote>
He added that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has adequate grain in its strategic reserve and would be able to provide the drought relief.
Mavima said his ministry will, in the next two weeks, approach the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to get the grain that is needed in order to make interventions.
Millions of Zimbabweans especially from rural areas are at the risk of starvation due to poor harvests caused by erratic rains.
According to a ZIMVAC 2021 Rural Livelihoods Assessment, 50% of households in areas such as Matabeleland South Province have less than three months’ supplies of food.
Zimbabwe has experienced recurrent food shortages over the past two decades despite billions of dollars spent on government-aided agricultural programs such as Intwasa/Pfumvudza and the Command Agriculture.
<h4>More: <a href="https://openparly.com/index.php/2022/06/17/govt-compiling-data-to-use-in-responding-to-food-shortages/">OpenParly</a></h4>

Govt Working On Measures To Mitigate Food Shortages

President Emmerson Mnangagwa says Zimbabwe’s food security is guaranteed despite the grain harvest falling to 1.8 million tonnes in the 2021/22 summer season.
Writing in his column for The Sunday Mail, President Mnangagwa said the country is set to hold more than 100 000 tonnes of grain carried over from last season’s harvest. He said:
<blockquote>
The just-ended 2021-22 season has not been that good. It was slow to start and characterised by poor and erratic rains.
As if that was not bad enough, the country was hit by a severe early-to-mid-season drought which subjected most crops to severe moisture stress.
As I indicated, five provinces (Manicaland, Masvingo, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South) were hit hardest and could not recover.
Because of that, our harvest has come down to 1.8 million tonnes, 400 000 tonnes short of our yearly national requirement of 2.2 million tonnes.
Thankfully, our Strategic Grain Reserves, SGR, hold 500 000 tonnes from the 2020-21 season.
That means we exceed our yearly national grain needs by some 100 000 tonnes, which we expect to remain in SGR until the next harvest.
We thus are food secure.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/zim-food-secure-says-president">The Sunday Mail</a></h4>

Zimbabwe Is Food Secure, Says Mnangagwa

Zimbabwe has enough grain stocks in its strategic grain reserve to ensure food security for both people and livestock up to the next harvest.
This came out in the Government’s second crop and livestock assessment report.
The report estimated that the country’s maize production fell 43% to 1 557 914 metric tonnes (MT) in the 2021/22 cropping season from 2 717 171 MT produced in the 2020/21 season.
The total cereal production is 1 752 014MT against a national cereal requirement of 2 267 599MT. 1 817 599MT is for human consumption and 350 000MT for livestock.
The Government expressed confidence that the 415 585 tonnes deficit will be filled by strategic reserves.
There was a surplus of 522 913 tonnes of cereals from last year’s harvest. Reads the report:
<blockquote>
The country will meet its national food requirement up to the next harvest after considering strategic grain reserves.
Human consumption is computed from a consumption rate of 120kg a person per year and a national population estimate of 15 146 657.
</blockquote>
The report further stated that rainfall distribution was poor in the 2021/22 cropping season.
Meanwhile, the Government has urged farmers to plant traditional crops which are more drought tolerant. The report read:
<blockquote>
Traditional grains production for the 2021/2022 season is estimated at 194 100MT representing a 44% decrease from 347 968MT in 2020/2021.
Sorghum production is expected to be 144 633MT which is 41% lower than 244 063Mt obtained during the 2020/2021 season.
Pearl Millet Production is expected to be at 44 143MT which is 51% less than 90 683MT obtained during 2020/2021.
Finger Millet production is expected to be at 5 320MT which is a 60% decrease from 13 223Mt produced in the 2020/2021 season.
</blockquote>
The report said that most Wards in the Mashonaland West and Central provinces have a cereal grain sufficiency of more than 12 months.
However, most of the Wards in the southern region of the country have cereal sufficiency lasting up to nine months only.
<h4>More: <a href="https://businesstimes.co.zw/zim-has-sufficient-grain-stocks/">Business Times</a></h4>

"Zimbabwe Has Sufficient Grain Stocks"

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister, Douglas Karoro, said the prolonged drought experienced in the country during the 2021/22 rain season has negatively affected the country’s food security.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Director, Strategic Policy Planning and Business Development, Clemence Bwenje, at the commissioning of Mayorca Irrigation Scheme in Silobela, Karoro said:
<blockquote>
In the current 2021/22 season, most parts of the country experienced a late start to the rains and later we had a long dry spell which negatively impacted our efforts to achieve national food security.
The Midlands province was not spared from these extreme weather conditions. For Midlands Province, this has been worsened by the fact that part of it lies in natural regions four, which receives sub-optimal rainfall.
</blockquote>
Karoro said agriculture contributes at least 17% to the GDP, while at the same time supporting 67% of the livelihoods of people living in the rural areas.
He said in order for Zimbabwe to attain food self-sufficiency, there is a need for the country to move away from its reliance on rain-fed farming. Said Karoro:
<blockquote>
In this endeavour, we cannot continue to rely on rain-fed agriculture while rivers flow into the Zambezi, while rivers flow into the Limpopo. As a country, we have the potential.
We have more than 10 000 small dams and 40 medium dams that are sufficient to irrigate 2 million hectares.
We want to continue to grow our area under irrigation from the current 15%, largely because in the last decade, the country has been experiencing changes in weather patterns.
The weather patterns are no longer reliable, and drought and floods are occurring more frequently.
</blockquote>
Karoro said the Government’s focus is now on expanding irrigation development and water harvesting under the escalated irrigation rehabilitation and development plan. 
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/gvt-says-zimbabwe-faces-deadly-famine/">NewZimbabwe.com</a></h4>

Govt Says Zimbabwe Faces Drought-induced Famine

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have come to the rescue of communities in Chiredzi rural, on the periphery of the Gonarezhou National Park, who are facing drought-induced hunger.
The area, one of the most marginalised in the country, experiences perennial droughts and high commodity prices coupled with wildlife-human conflict.
The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has been providing food aid to 600 households over the past four months.
The project is running under the Drought Relief Emergency Fund (DREF). ZRCS secretary-general Elias Hwenga said:
<blockquote>
The overall objective of this DREF operation is to anticipate and respond to the emerging food insecurities and to improve the preparedness of the Chiredzi community for the forecasted hydro-meteorological emergencies in light of the normal-to- above normal rainfall forecast.
The imminent emergency preparedness activities are being complemented by early actions that are aimed at mitigating and minimizing the humanitarian impacts of the lean season and anticipated hydro-meteorological hazards.
The operation is also now set to provide immediate assistance to address the basic urgent food security needs of food-insecure households in Chiredzi after the completion of the beneficiary registration exercise.
The food insecurity assistance will be complemented by the provision of WASH and health services to the target wards of Chiredzi.
The operation has seen the distribution of non-food items which are mosquito nets, PPE and hygiene kits.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://thestandard.newsday.co.zw/2022/04/10/hunger-stalks-chiredzi-villagers/">The Standard</a></h4>

NGOs Rescue Hunger-stricken Chiredzi Villagers

Drought will have negative economic consequences for the country as it will drive inflation and push more people into extreme poverty, an economist has said.
Reports indicate that most of the summer crops are now in critical need of rainfall and will be a write-off if there is no significant rainfall in the coming few days.
An economist, Gift Mugano, said a drought will have a negative impact on the manufacturing sector as most of the raw materials come from the agricultural sector. Said Mugano:
<blockquote>
The drought, which we are witnessing will come with a negative impact on the economy.
You need to know that 70 per cent of the raw materials we use in the manufacturing sector come from the agricultural sector, so with this kind of a drought, we will be forced to import more and this will result in huge demand for foreign currency and pressure on the exchange rate and inflation.
Once that happens, inflation will turn its ugly head on us. The drought will also have social consequences on society.
We expect to see more people enter into poverty because of the absence of food security.
The latest figures from Zimstats in terms of people who are in extreme poverty is around 49 per cent.
With this drought, we expect to have more than half of the population of this country enter into poverty.
</blockquote>
Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFC) executive director Paul Zakariya the drought situation is bad in the Matabeleland Provinces as well as Midlands and Manicaland. He said:
<blockquote>
Much of the crop in the south of the country is severely stressed, reaching nearly wilting point.
We have also covered Matabeleland North and South as well as Midlands and if these provinces do not receive the rains in the next two or three days, it will be a possible write off. The situation is equally bad in Manicaland Province.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.businessweekly.co.zw/drought-fears-as-dry-spell-continues/">Business Weekly</a></h4>

Drought To Drive More Zimbabweans Into Extreme Poverty

The  (MSD) says it has started cloud-seeding in order to induce rainfall following a prolonged dry spell that has lasted for over a month in some parts of the country.
According to an <a href="https://www.dri.edu/cloud-seeding-program/what-is-cloud-seeding/">online source</a>, cloud seeding is a weather-modification technique that improves a cloud’s ability to produce rain by artificially adding condensation nuclei to the atmosphere, providing a base for raindrops to form.
MSD deputy director, Linia Gopo, on Sunday said cloud-seeding had started. She said:
<blockquote>
It started last week. It can only be done when conditions are conducive.
</blockquote>
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president, Shadreck Makombe, said in some areas, the late-planted maize has reached the permanent wilting point and will not recover even if significant rains fall.
Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers’ Trust president, Depinah Nkomo said some drought-tolerant crops can still be salvaged.
According to the Head of the Plant Protection and Research Institute, Shingirai Nyamutukwa, the current hot weather conditions are conducive to the rapid spread of pests.
Nyamutukwa advised farmers to increase scouting frequency and apply pesticides as soon as there is pest infestation.
Agriculture expert and Agricultural Rural Development Authority board chairman, Ivan Craig, said:
<blockquote>
Not everybody should give up. There are some crops that will survive when they receive rain.
In some cases, the maize is now a write-off and the cob has fallen. Farmers should not leave the crop to dry but should cut it into small pieces and make silage thus adding value to the wasted crop.
Besides silage, farmers can also make snap corn, taking the wasted maize and grinding it.
It is then mixed with salt or other feeds and fed to livestock. Farmers can also sell the snap corn to other livestock farmers and get money.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/cloud-seeding-starts-as-crops-suffer-growing-moisture-stress/">The Herald</a></h4>

Met Department Commences Cloud Seeding

Zimbabwe may experience food shortages due to a long dry spell that is currently prevailing across the country with reports indicating that some areas did not receive rainfall in the whole month of February.
Farmers’ groups say that even if significant rains are received now, some of the cereals have reached the permanent wilting point.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Shadreck Makombe has described the crop situation as “a disaster”. Said Makombe:
<blockquote>
The dry spell has disastrously affected farmers. Things are not looking good here.
Most crops as we speak now have wilted because we have not received rain for a long time.
Even if the rains come, they will not recover. It’s really a disaster.
</blockquote>
Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) operations director Prince Kuipa said yields could potentially fall by between 30-40%. He said:
<blockquote>
It has affected crop growth and development. Most crops are showing signs of wilting and distress.
We anticipate that the production levels of 2021-22 are going to be lowered. But we are going to have a significant loss.
It could be anything around 30-40% that we could lose that crop if dry spells proceed.
</blockquote>
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Climate and Rural Resettlement ministry secretary John Bhasera acknowledged that the 2021/22 summer season has been “tricky”. He said:
<blockquote>
These dry spells are the signs and signals that climate change is a real reality. This has been a tricky season because of climate change.
We had a false start to the season but after the false start, it later on started very well, although it was a late-season it’s not a lost season.
</blockquote>
The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) projected normal to above normal rainfall in both the first and second half of the 2021/2022 cropping season but there has been no meaningful rainfall activity for much of February.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/03/dry-spell-sparks-drought-fears/">NewsDay</a></h4>

Prolonged Drought Sparks Hunger Fears

30 per cent of the maize crop in Manicaland Province has been written off following a prolonged dry spell while 50 per cent of the crop is at the temporary wilting point and needs meaningful rains by mid-next week to be resuscitated.
Manicaland last received meaningful rains on 4 February and as a result, even drought-tolerant small grains are succumbing to the heatwave.
Manicaland Provincial Agritex Officer, Philipa Rwambiwa, told The Manica Post that in Mutare and Buhera districts, lower parts of Chipinge, as well as the western parts of Chimanimani and Mutasa, most of the maize crop has reached the permanent wilting point. She said:
<blockquote>
As we speak, about 30 per cent of the maize crop has been written off. It has reached the permanent wilting point, and even it rains now that crop cannot be salvaged.
Even the traditional grains that are more tolerant to these conditions are also being affected.
We require rainfall as soon as yesterday as the crops are not looking very good.
Temporary wilting happens when it gets hot and the crop shows signs of wilting, but when it’s sunset and early in the morning, it gets back to normal.
At this point, 50 per cent of the remaining crop can be resuscitated, but the yield will be reduced.
Crops at this point can still be rejuvenated if it rains between now and early next week.
Only 20 per cent of the province’s crops, including those under irrigation, are in good condition. The crops in Natural Region One are still good.
</blockquote>
Regions One and Two cover some parts of Headlands, Odzi, Vumba, Nyazura, parts of Nyanga, Mutasa and upper Chipinge.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.manicapost.co.zw/30-percent-of-maize-written-off/">The Manica Post</a></h4>

30 Percent Of Maize Crop Written Off

The prolonged current dry spell prevailing across the country is threatening the summer 2021/22 crop, with the fears that much of the crop will be a write-off if there is no meaningful rainfall activity in the next few days.
The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) projected normal to above normal rainfall in both the first and second half of the 2021/2022 cropping season but there has been no rainfall across much of the country for more than three weeks.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary John Bhasera said crops in Mashonaland East, Masvingo and the Midlands provinces need rainfall in the coming days to guarantee another good harvest. Said Bhasera:
<blockquote>
The crops in the three provinces have started wilting and the situation is reported to be the same in other provinces that have not received rains for a long time.
We are hopeful and still positive that it will rain in the next few days so that we have another good harvest.
</blockquote>
Bhasera was speaking in an interview with State media after the tour of the revived Mayorca irrigation scheme in Ward 5, Sessombe Village in Zhombe, Midlands Province.
The 76-hectare irrigation scheme, which has 76 members, was rehabilitated under the Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP).
The Government partnered with the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) in the US$9.4 million scheme.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/dry-spell-threatening-to-cripple-this-years-harvest/">Chronicle</a></h4>

Prolonged Dry Spell Threatens Summer 2021/22 Crop

Villagers in Silobela, Midlands Province are now feeding on wild roots as they have run out of food supplies and donations have dried up.
Some of the villagers have reportedly resorted to gold panning along the Gweru River to make ends meet.
This was revealed by the Zibagwe Rural District Council (ZRDC) councillor Willard Moyo. He said:
<blockquote>Villagers are digging the roots of a wild tree called Manyeya. They are digging the roots along Gweru River, it is the roots of that tree which they are cooking for food.
Villagers will be digging and cooking the roots after spending the whole day panning for gold in the river to no avail.
Most would spend a full week trying to make a single point (of gold) that costs US$2.</blockquote>
This comes after the department of social welfare has stopped food distribution saying that grain silos are empty.
Area MP Mthokhozisa Manoki Mpofu confirmed the grim situation in Silobela, saying it has been three months since the villagers received food handouts from the government.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/villagers-in-drought-ravaged-silobela-surviving-on-wild-root/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NewZimbabwe.com</a></h4>

Drought Forces Silobela Villagers To Eat Wild Roots

The government has predicted that it will be feeding up to 10 million by the end of the 2020/2021 rain season or the time for the next harvest next year because of the consecutive drought that ravaged Zimbabwe in the last 2 years, The Herald reports.
This was revealed by Social Welfare Minister Paul Mavhima at a signing ceremony where the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and World Vision were renewing their Memorandum of Understanding. Mavhima said:
<blockquote>We are now feeding 210 000 people who require assistance. Currently, we are helping with cash transfers, to be reviewed to remain reasonable. There has been an increase for the need of social services as the informal sector has been forced to close because of the lockdown, but need for sustenance remains for companies, employees and families.
In the next peak hunger period, we probably will be feeding between 8 to 10 million people as we have had successive droughts. The situation has been made worse by Covid-19.</blockquote>
Meanwhile, government is having a hard time paying out the cushion allowance it promised 1 Million vulnerable people who were affected by the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/social-protection-net-set-to-widen/">The Herald </a>

Govt Predicts It Will Be Feeding 8 to 10 Million People By April 2021

The <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Meteorological_Services_Department" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meteorological Services Department (MSD)</a> has declared the 2019/20 rainy season over in most parts of the country.
MSD head of forecasting, James Ngoma, revealed that the rainy season normally ends on 16 March in the southern parts of the country while on the extreme northern parts it ends mid-April. Said Ngoma:
<blockquote>We are now towards the end of the rainy season. It will end differently in different areas. In the southern parts of the country, it normally ends on 16 March while on the extreme northern parts it ends mid-April.
<a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Matabeleland_South_Province" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matabeleland South</a> has been dry almost the whole season. Rains expected will be too insignificant in Bulilima and Mangwe areas. In Matabeleland North, areas like Victoria Falls are receiving showers which are below 5mm.</blockquote>
Meanwhile, in both Matabeleland South and <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Matabeleland_North_Province" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matabeleland North</a>, most of the crops have failed due to a prolonged drought. Matabeleland South Provincial Agritex Officer Simangaliso Ngwabi had this to say:
Crops have not matured to harvest. Early planted crops are now a write-off. Few farmers have their crops just above the knee but the crops are showing signs of moisture stress. If rains don’t come in a week the crops will all wilt. They need the rains.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/rainy-season-comes-to-an-end-matland-crops-a-write-off/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chronicle</a></h4>

2019/20 Rainy Season Over - MSD

<a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Nkayi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nkayi</a> district in <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Matabeleland_North_Province" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matabeleland North</a> is experiencing a severe drought, with over 100 000 villagers facing starvation.
Addressing journalists during a tour, district development co-ordinator Matilda Mlothswa said:
<blockquote>We are one of the poorest districts in the country. Our sandy soils are not good for farming and the dryness makes it difficult to access water. People are just surviving under very difficult conditions.
… The people here are hardworking when NGOs come they are eager to be helped. As a district, we are very grateful for the NGOs. We hope more will come to train us on how to empower ourselves.</blockquote>
Mlotshwa added that 28 out of 30 wards in Nkayi district were affected by drought.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF)-Matabeleland Enhanced Livelihoods Agriculture and Nutrition Adaptation (MELANA) project has been launched to work with communities in Nkayi, Bubi, Umguza and Umzingwane districts.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2020/02/100-000-nkayi-villagers-face-starvation/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NewsDay</a></h4>

Drought Pushes Thousands Of Nkayi Villagers To The Brink

The <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Government_of_Zimbabwe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">government of Zimbabwe</a> has reportedly lifted a ban on imports of genetically modified maize for the first time in 12 years to mitigate debilitating grain shortages.
According to Bloomberg, three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the development, saying the genetically modified maize is imported from South Africa, quarantined, and milled into mealie meal.
Permanent secretary in the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Ministry_of_Information,_Publicity_and_Broadcasting_Services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services</a>, Ndavaningi Mangwana could neither confirm nor deny the lifting of the ban when contacted for comment by the publication. He said:
<blockquote>Government weighs its position on genetically modified corn against the nutritional needs of the nation and proceeds guided by that assessment.</blockquote>
Zimbabwe is currently battling with the impact of its worst drought in 40 years and is in the midst of an economic collapse.
International humanitarian organisations have estimated the number of people in need of food aid at 8 million, about half the country’s population.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/zimbabwe-lifts-ban-on-gm-corn-imports-in-bid-to-avert-famine-1.1382728" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a></h4>

Zimbabwe Lifts Ban On Genetically Modified Maize Imports - REPORT

Farmers are hopeful that a good harvest can still be salvaged if the prevailing rainfall continues until the middle of March.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) executive director, Paul Zakariya, told Business Times that grain output could exceed one million tonnes if the rainfall patterns remain favourable. He said:
<blockquote>If rains continue pounding [like what happened in the past week and over the weekend] till mid-March, yields will improve and the country will certainly reduce agriculture imports thereby saving elusive foreign currency.
We will continue having that hope of continuous rainfall patterns but the yields won’t be as good as we had expected.</blockquote>
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president, Wonder Chabikwa, encouraged farmers to practice conservative farming methods and harvest rainwater for irrigation.
Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Meteorological_Services_Department" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meteorological Services Department (MSD)</a> has predicted that the country is likely to receive good rainfall until the end of February.
MSD senior forecaster, James Ngoma, said the highest rainfall was received on Thursday at Mupfurudzi Resettlement (64 millimetres), Arcturus (61 mm), <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Wedza" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wedza</a> (43mm), Mt Darwin (43mm), <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Chipinge" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chipinge</a> (39mm) and Harare Golf Club (39mm).
<h4>More: <a href="https://businesstimes.co.zw/2020-agric-season-still-promising/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Business Times</a></h4>

2019/2020 Farming Season Not Yet A Write-off - Farmers' Union

<blockquote>EU releases 18.7 million USD in humanitarian aid for Zimbabwe.
The European Union has mobilised an additional 16.8 million EUR (approx. 18.7 million USD) to help address emergency food needs and support vulnerable people in Zimbabwe. The funding comes as large parts of the country and the wider region of Southern Africa are in the grip of the harshest drought in decades, which is compounded in Zimbabwe by governance challenges and a worsening economic situation.
Harare, 16 January 2020. In addition to providing food and nutrition, the funds will improve access to basic health care and clean water, and provide protection to counter the risks that people’s fragility exposes them to.
The funding for Zimbabwe is part of a larger support package of over 22 million EUR (over 24.5 million USD); the remaining amount will be channelled to providing food assistance and nutrition support in Eswatini, Madagascar, Lesotho and Zambia.
Announcing the aid package for the region, Janez Lenarčič, the EU’s Commissioner for Crisis Management, said: “Many poor households in drought-affected areas in southern African countries are struggling to have enough food due to crop failure, reduced access to water and, in some places, unaffordable food prices in markets. EU humanitarian aid will help deliver food to those most in need and tackle the hunger crisis in fragile rural communities.”
The Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region as a whole is prone to natural disasters and oscillates between droughts and floods that are destroying harvests and further weakening fragile communities. Since January 2019, the EU has allocated a total of €67.95 million (approx. 75.75 million USD) for humanitarian assistance across the region.
The bulk of this funding went for emergency relief assistance in the wake of natural disasters (cyclones Idai and Kenneth), food assistance, and helping at-risk communities equip themselves better to face climate-related disasters. 
Background Extensive areas in southern Africa received in 2019 their lowest seasonal rainfall to date since 1981 when records first began to be held.
As many as 12 million people in the region are at risk of hunger because of extended periods of below-average rainfall, interspersed with floods, on top of the economic challenges that some countries in the region are grappling with.
In Zimbabwe alone, 7.7 million people, half of the country’s population, are at the risk of facing severe hunger, placing Zimbabwe among the states facing one of the worst food crises in the world.</blockquote>

EU Releases An Additional 18.7 Million USD In Humanitarian Aid For Zimbabwe {Full Text}

A video posted by Multimedia Live documents the hunger crisis gripping the country right now.
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/efvffu2FV0M?feature=oembed" title="Zimbabwe plunges towards hunger crisis" width="640"></iframe></div>

WATCH: Zimbabwe Plunges Towards Hunger Crisis

The <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Meteorological_Services_Department" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meteorological Services Department (MSD)</a> on Monday said scattered thunderstorms are predicted in some parts of the country from 10 to 14 January.
The rainfall amounts, however, will not be very high but there is a high likelihood of violent storms due to the high temperatures currently obtaining in the country.
<blockquote>An improvement in the rainfall activity is expected from the 10th to the 14th of January 2020 as there will be infiltration of moisture from the north and west of the country.
In terms of the daily amounts, the rainfall is not much in most areas, 10mm of rainfall or less in most areas. However, localised heavy rainfall may be experienced in places recording between 20mm-30mm of rainfall in 24 hours.</blockquote>
Zimbabwe has not received any meaningful rainfall for close to a month now, with farmers worried that maize in the fields is about to reach the permanent wilting stage.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/all-hope-not-lost-say-agric-experts/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Herald</a></h4>

MSD: Moderate Rainfall Expected Between 10-14 January

The Minister for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Monica_Mutsvangwa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Monica Mutsvangwa</a>, on Sunday said the government will release more funds for the importation of maize to avert starvation.
With the country facing the reality of another poor rainy season and forecasts showing another poor harvest in April, more resources will be availed towards securing food supplies. Said Mutsvangwa:
<blockquote>As you can see, climate disaster shows no signs of letting up, and forecasts indicate another poor harvest in April, with below normal rainfall recorded, and Government will continue to import maize so that everyone will get food.
… the government will keep on increasing money for maize imports since the sky is not promising enough rains.</blockquote>
In its latest monthly report, the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Reserve_Bank_of_Zimbabwe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s (RBZ)</a> said Treasury spent US$1,5 million on maize imports in August, but the figure increased to US$4 million in September.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has already warned that Zimbabwe was facing its worst hunger crisis in a decade, with more than 8 million people being food insecure.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/maize-imports-stepped-up/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Herald</a></h4>

Govt To Release More Funds To Import Maize - Mutsvangwa

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has inadvertently warned Zimbabweans to brace for more power following revelations that Kariba Hydro Power Station, where the country gets most of its electricity supplies, was generating only 90MW from an installed capacity of 1 050MW.
Mnangagwa told a crowd during this month’s National Clean-up Campaign in <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Kuwadzana" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kuwadzana</a>, Harare, that the current drought conditions will worsen poverty and power cuts. He said:
<blockquote>Consider the drought spell, there are no rains. As you can see, we are staring at poverty. We need electricity in our homes and industries.
I am sure you have heard that Lake Kariba, which was giving us 1 000 MW before is now only managing between 100 and 90MW because of the extremely low water levels.</blockquote>
Last month, the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Zambezi_River" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zambezi River</a> Authority (ZRA), advised that <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Lake_Kariba" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kariba Dam</a>, the country’s source of hydro-power, is left with only 1,23 metres or 8,50% of water usable for power generation, a situation that may result in the closure of the power station until there are significant inflows.
The Zambezi River receives only 20 per cent of its waters from Zimbabwe (Sanyati and Gwaai rivers), while 80 per cent of the water flows from Angola, DRC and Zambia, among other catchments in the north of the flood plains.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/brace-for-more-power-cuts-ed/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NewZimbabwe.com</a></h4>

President Mnangagwa Speaks On Power Cuts, Increasing Poverty

If there is no rainfall in the next two weeks, most of the maize crop will be a write-off as the intraseasonal drought has extended close to a month.
This was revealed by Davison Masendeke, the principal agronomist in the Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (Agritex) in <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Matabeleland_North_Province" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matabeleland North Province</a> in an interview with Sunday News on Friday. He said:
<blockquote>We are facing a dry spell which started three weeks to a month and we are saying if we don’t get rains in the next two weeks, we are going to write off a certain hectarage of our maize crop.
In terms of rainfall, we are below the average amount we recorded last season, in almost all the districts except for Bubi and <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Tsholotsho" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tsholotsho</a> (districts).
The rainfall has been characterised by poor distribution in terms of space and time and this affected the rate of planting, crop emergence and establishment.</blockquote>
Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Meteorological_Services_Department" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meteorological Services Department (MSD)</a> has predicted that the current dry spell will persist until the 10th of January when moderate precipitation is expected.
This comes at a time when a weather forecast issued by the SADC Climate Services Centre (CSC) indicates that from January 1-6, the greater part of the region will receive heavy rainfall.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.sundaynews.co.zw/maize-crop-situation-dire/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sunday News</a></h4>

Maize Crop On Verge Of Permanent Wilting Stage

The <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Meteorological_Services_Department" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meteorological Services Department (MSD)</a> has predicted that the current dry spell will persist until the 10th of January when moderate precipitation is expected.
Speaking to ZBC News on Friday, MSD Deputy Director Weather Forecasting, Linia Gopo said that the current dry spell and scorching temperatures will continue. She said:
<blockquote>Where we are now as the season progresses the southern part has been dry. From today we are not expecting much rainfall in the coming week but as from the 10th of this month that’s when we are expecting a slight improvement in terms of rainfall but it’s not normal.
Those who have access to irrigation we encourage them to supplement their crops. To those without facilities can opt for short-season varieties or small grains that do not need a lot of rains.</blockquote>
Meanwhile, a weather forecast issued by the SADC Climate Services Centre (CSC) indicates that from January 1-6, the greater part of the region will receive heavy rainfall.
However, the whole of Zimbabwe and central Mozambique were expected to experience a dry spell during the period.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.zbcnews.co.zw/dry-spell-to-persist-met-department/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ZBC News</a></h4>

Slight Rainfall Expected From 10 January Onwards- MSD

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday warned that Zimbabwe faces a poor harvest come April 2020 as the country has hitherto received erratic rains.
WFP said in a statement:
<blockquote>This season’s rains are again late and inadequate, with planted seeds having failed to germinate in many areas.
Forecasts of continuing hot and dry weather in the weeks ahead signal another poor harvest in April, putting lives and livelihoods at risk.</blockquote>
Not only is Zimbabwe facing the prospect of a second drought in as many years, but the country is also grappling with the worst economic crisis in a decade.
Runaway inflation, shortages of foreign exchange, fuel and electricity, have become the new normal since the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/November_2017_Military_Coup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">November 2017 military coup</a> that toppled longtime ruler <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Robert_Mugabe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Robert Mugabe</a>.
<h4>More: <a href="https://newzwire.live/zimbabwe-faces-another-poor-harvest-un-warns/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NeZWire</a></h4>

UN Says Zimbabwe Is Facing Another Drought

The United Nations World Food Programme said it will run out of food by February 2020 if it does not receive US$200 million to feed 4.1 million Zimbabweans who are facing starvation.
WFP’s Deputy Country Director in Zimbabwe, Niels Balzer, on Monday, called on countries to step up support to Zimbabwe, where millions of people are facing hunger. He said:
<blockquote>As things stand, we will run out of food by the end of February, coinciding with the peak of the hunger season – when needs are at their highest.
Firm pledges are urgently needed as it can take up to three months for funding commitments to become food on people’s tables.</blockquote>
Zimbabwe was hit by a severe drought during the 2018/19 rainy season, with the maize harvest dropping by 50 per cent.
In August, WFP had to launch an emergency lean season assistance programme, months earlier than expected.
<h4>More: <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1054491" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">United Nations</a></h4>

UN Runs Out Of Food To Feed Hungry Zimbabweans

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