This archive report was first published on 11 May 2021.
On the back of a bumper harvest, Zimbabwe is poised to break its cycle of food deficits, a testament to the country's resilience in the face of adversity.
According to official data, the country is set to harvest 2.7 million tonnes of maize in the 2020/21 summer crop season, the highest yield in 20 years. This is a staggering 200 percent increase from last year's harvest and 130 percent above the average.
As a result, Zimbabwe expects to enjoy a surplus of over 820,000 tonnes of cereals this year, the highest yield since the 2000/01 season. This is a significant improvement from the food shortages that plagued the country following the violent seizure of white-owned commercial farms under President Robert Mugabe's land reforms.
The country's agricultural sector has been on the mend, thanks to above-normal rainfall during the just-ended farming season. Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa noted that despite the premature termination of the season for many districts, the bumper harvests across the country are a welcome relief.
However, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FewsNet) cautioned that Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis is not yet over. The ongoing economic problems, which have persisted for over two decades, continue to impact poor households' access to food and non-food essentials.
As FewsNet noted, the macroeconomy remains volatile, with parallel market exchange rates over 30 percent higher than official rates. This has exacerbated the challenges faced by market-reliant households, highlighting the need for sustained support to address the country's economic woes.
