President declares drought State of Disaster
Written by Staff Reporter on April 4, 2024
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday declared the El Nino-induced drought a State of Disaster, saying adequate resources will be mobilised and re-directed towards boosting national food
security, including through supplementary grain imports as part of mitigation measures.
El Niño is a natural weather phenomenon characterised by disrupted wind patterns that lead to elevated ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific. This climatic event
can have far-reaching impacts on global weather patterns, affecting everything from rainfall distribution to tropical cyclone activity.
Most provinces in Zimbabwe have experienced crop failure since November, with hotter areas declaring grains such as maize a writeoff, leaving most families in need of food aid.
Humanitarian agencies including the World Food Programme, which fed 270 000 people between January and March in four districts, have described the hunger situation as “dire”, calling
on donors to provide more aid.
The declaration of a State of Disaster will trigger resource mobilisation efforts on a huge scale targeting all stakeholders including those in the diaspora, the United Nations family, the
international community and the private sector among others.
El Niño-related climate variability is one of the strongest drivers impacting agricultural production in Southern Africa. It is usually characterised by above-average temperatures and
below-normal rainfall during the November-April season. The region is experiencing extremely dry conditions during the 2023/24 El Niño season, including one of the driest Februarys in
over 40 years, resulting in widespread crop failure across central parts of the region. According to a recent report by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA), Angola, Botswana, DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe received the lowest rainfall for the late January/February timeframe in at least 40 years.
“The foregoing situation of the climate change-induced drought requires measures and interventions as provided for in our laws. To that end, I do hereby declare a nationwide state of
disaster due to the El Nino-induced drought. Accordingly, I now invoke Section 27 (1) of the Civil Protection Act, Chapter 10:06,” said President Mnangagwa in his address to the nation.
“By this declaration, I also call upon all Zimbabweans of goodwill, including those in the diaspora, the international community, United Nations agencies, development and humanitarian
partners, international financial institutions, the private sector, churches and other faith-based organisations, as well as individuals to generously donate towards ameliorating this state
of national disaster.”
The drought in Southern Africa has reached crisis levels with Botswana and Angola to the west, and Mozambique and Madagascar to the east also facing hunger.
Neighbouring Zambia and Malawi, which have also been affected by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which left millions of people in need of food assistance, declared a State of
Disaster in February and March respectively.
President Mnangagwa said the country requires over US$2 billion towards various interventions envisaged in the spectrum of the national response.
“The current agricultural season of 2023 to 2024 has not performed according to expectations due to the El Nino-induced drought. As a result, more than 80 percent of our country
received below-normal rainfall,” he said.
“The country had put a total of 1 728 897 hectares under maize crop and other cereals, which ordinarily would have guaranteed a bountiful harvest.
“Further worsening the situation characterised by poor rainfall was the outbreak of fall armyworm across the country.
“While we have been able, so far, to fend for this food insecure population, the El Nino drought has now compounded our current situation, with food insecurity levels raised beyond the
projected 2,7 million.”
According to the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee report for 2023, about 2,7 million people were expected to be food insecure from April last year until the end of March this
year.
The President said following the Government’s multi-pronged Agricultural and Food Systems Strategies, the nation was ordinarily capable of feeding itself.
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