President Emmerson Mnangagwa has officially declared the 2023/2024 summer cropping season a national disaster due to the El Nino-induced drought. Speaking from the State House in Harare this Wednesday morning, President Mnangagwa cited the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee Report for 2023, which projected that 2.7 million people would face food insecurity from April 2023 to the end of March 2024.
Addressing the nation, the President assured that the government is committed to ensuring timely food supplies to all vulnerable households. He emphasized that securing food for all Zimbabweans is a top priority, with plans underway to mobilize adequate resources and redirect them towards national food security efforts, including through supplementary grain imports.
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President Mnangagwa also disclosed that preliminary assessments indicate that Zimbabwe requires over US$2 billion to implement various interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of the crisis.
In another story, According to the latest report from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Zimbabwe is grappling with a significant loss of cattle due to drought-related conditions. Approximately 9,000 cattle have succumbed to these harsh conditions, while over 1.4 million more are at high risk due to the scarcity of pasture and water.
FEWSNET has issued a stark warning, indicating that the limited availability of pasture during the dry season is expected to lead to a surge in livestock deaths. The agency underscores the severity of the situation, emphasizing that the current conditions pose a grave threat to the country’s livestock population….read in full