The Sunday News
Walter Mswazie in Chivi
MORE than 20 000 families in Chivi District are no longer food secure and there is an urgent need to increase food aid to people in the district, an official has said.
The situation has been worsened by prospects of a drought in the arid district as most crops in the area have started to show signs of moisture stress.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Environmental Management Agency —organised belated World Wetland Day commemorations at Govaguru Wetland, Ward 10 in Chivi last week, deputy District Administrator Mr Kennedy Manikwa said most families had no food reserves and were looking up to Government for relief aid.
“More than 20 000 households in Chivi are food insecure. Most of the families are now foregoing normal meals due to drought and now depend on the Department of Social Welfare for relief food,” said Mr Manikwa.
He said while it was the duty of the Government to feed its people, affected families were expected to engage in income generating projects so that they can sustain themselves instead of waiting for handouts.
“I can safely say as Government, we have been able to provide maize grain to more than 50 percent of families in need of food in Chivi District.
“Each household comprising six people normally gets a 50kg of maize grain every month and we have been promised that monthly allocations will be increased.
“However, we urge communities to engage in income generating projects so that they can also be able to fight drought. We take pride in a community like the one in Mutonhodza Village where they preserve and utilise a wetland,” he said.
He however, said despite the high number of people in need of food, the Government was going to ensure that no one dies of hunger as there were grain reserves at the Grain Marketing Board.
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