Chivi villagers face starvation
TATENDA CHIKARA IN CHIVI
Nearly half of villagers in Chivi district, Masvingo Province, are in need of food assistance, a latest Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee report shows.
District Development coordinator (DDC) for Chivi district, Innocent Matingwina told Business Times government had tasked the World Food Programme (WFP) to assist the villagers with food.
“So from now on we have started training people in the province who will oversee the distribution of food handouts,” Matingwina said.
He added: “We are looking forward to assisting around 48% of the total population in the district.”
The Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services acting director for Masvingo Province, Aaron Muchazivepi, urged farmers to practice conservation agriculture such as the Pfumvudza.
“This is a type of farming where farmers first dig holes then add mulching so that moisture cannot be lost. This season we are looking forward to assisting more than 400 000 in the whole province with inputs. This will help farmers to harvest more on a small piece of land,” he said.
Muchazivepi said due to prolonged drought in the province, the government had set a target of small grain harvest of 85 000 hactares (ha) from 79 000 ha last season.
“This year, we are looking to harvest about 85 000ha. This is due to its natural regions 4 and 5 which receive low rainfall. The Ministry of lands, Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development is going to assist farmers with small grain inputs,” Muchazivepi added.
