El Niño in Zimbabwe: Responding to the crisis
07 July 2016, Harare - Southern Africa is currently in the grip of an intense drought driven by one of the strongest El Niño events recorded in the past 50 years.
Across large swathes of Zimbabwe, this year’s rainfall season has so far been the driest in recent years. In typical years families normally have enough food to eat after the main harvests begin in late March and April; that however is not the case this year.
It has turned out to be a particularly difficult year for farmers like Philemon Madube – a livestock farmer in Chivi district - Masvingo Province.
“Our biggest problem is water. If the rains had come in time, things could have been better, but water is a problem for us,” said Philemon Madube
Chipinge district, which lies in the eastern highlands of the country, is about 400km from the country’s capital - Harare. Thousands of cattle in the region have died lack of pasture and water. Livestock remains and skeletons have become a common sight for the community here.
Walter Mhlaba from Musikavanhu village in Chipinge had 15 cattle. Because of the poor state of his cattle, he sold a few – some of which, he had to trade for a pittance.
“I sold most of the cattle because they were starving to death. I couldn't fetch much for them, just $30 or $20. One of them fell and died in front of the buyer. I have dug many graves for the cattle. There is one over there. Some of them died when giving birth. The placenta would fall off because of starvation”, he said.
With funding from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is supporting 8,000 families. Through this project, livestock and crop farmers were able to access subsidized animal feed and drought-tolerant small grain and legume seeds. They also received training on how to best manage crops and livestock during the drought.
From the proceeds received from the sale of the subsidized animal feed and seeds, the project has established a drought mitigation revolving fund in each of the seven targeted districts. This money is already being used by the communities to procure additional stock feed as well as rehabilitate water points for both human and livestock consumption.
The effects of the El Niño induced drought will continue to be felt across the different sectors of —agriculture, water and sanitation, energy, health and education. It is, however, projects like these, which will be required to assist vulnerable families to restore agricultural production, regain their livelihoods and better withstand future climatic shocks
“The effects of El Niño and a bad drought last year already means that there have been two bad seasons. So we expect that even if next season is good, there will still be effects of these two bad seasons. Farmers may not have the seeds that they will need and because some of the livestock have died so they will need to restock. So normalcy may not return until about two seasons from now”, said David Phiri, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa
It is, however, projects like these that will be required to assist vulnerable families to restore agricultural production, regain their livelihoods and better withstand future climatic shocks
Contacts:
Edward Ogolla | FAO Southern Africa Communications | [email protected]
Sithembile Siziba| FAO Zimbabwe Communications | [email protected]