- The food security situation in both urban and rural areas remains stable. Basic foodstuffs remain generally available in most markets in the urban centers and some rural shops at growth points and service centers. Staple food availability, attributable to the liberalized economy and the use of multi currencies, among other policies, has resulted in generally stable food prices. The Central Statistical Office reported negative inflation during September.
- Limited income opportunities and generally low incomes for poor rural and urban households continue to render some of them food insecure. Based on ZimVac assessments in January and May 2009, about 1.6 million people are likely to have inadequate food entitlements between October and December 2009. This estimate may be revised by the October 2009 ZimVac rural food security survey.
- WFP and C Safe plan to feed a monthly average of 1.5 million people in this period. However, the pipelines had shortfalls of about 73,000MT of cereals and pulses by mid October 2009.
- The generally drier than normal October 2009 was a welcome relief for winter wheat producers, who are expected to produce 36,000MT: about 10 percent of the estimated annual national requirements of 350,000MT. More than 80 percent of winter wheat is produced by large commercial farms for the market. This summer season, unlike the last two, seeds and fertilizers are generally available in markets in most urban centers and some rural shops at stable prices, but many farming households are having serious challenges in purchasing inputs due to poor incomes. The input support programs by FAO and some NGOs will certainly address a significant proportion of this challenge. The private sector government input finance scheme has few takers due to conditions many farmers find too be restrictive. Consequently, many farmers are likely to use less fertilizer than they normally require and rely, as many did last season, on retained or carryover seed for their staple cereal crops.
Figure 1. Current estimated food security conditions, September 2009
See www.fews.net/FoodInsecurityScale for more information on the FEWS NET food insecurity severity scale. Source: FEWS NET
