The Zimbabwe government has declared the 2016 agricultural season a failure because of the El Nino effect which that affected the country leaving about four million people in need of food aid.
While the government has started importing maize to feed the vulnerable, it is focusing mainly on rural areas, leaving urbanites to fend for themselves.
Some of the residents of this city say they are harvesting their crops before they fully dried to save them from thieves who reaped what they did not sow.
“We have no option but to harvest the little that is there and dry it so that we take it to the grinding mill,” said 66-year old Patience Mutevhani, who has a fairly large piece of land near the National Foods depot in Aspindale here.
“It is better to harvest my crop and dry it in the sun at my home because I might lose the little that I have to thieves who are invading our fields at night. I cannot afford the loss,” said 50-year old Andrew Tarwirei, a self-employed carpenter from the Mufakose suburb.
An elderly woman from the former National Railways of Zimbabwe suburb of Rugare, 76-year old Beula Chakanza said her efforts had gone to waste as thieves had stolen all her crop starting when it was beginning to ripen.
“I did not notice that they were taking from the middle of the field until one day they cleared everything,” she said.
Many of the residents whose fields are not in swamps are expecting a bumper harvest as the El Nino effect did not affect their crops much. “I am not complaining,” said 54-year old Mary Chingombe from Budiriro suburb.
“I got a normal harvest from my small piece of land and it will be enough to see me through to the next harvest,” she added.
— BERNAMA-NNN-NEW ZIANA
