UN ‘concerned’ at cancellation of Zimbabwe food mission

HARARE – A top UN official in Zimbabwe is concerned that the government’s decision to scrap a mission to assess food stocks could complicate emergency aid deliveries that may be needed later in the year.

UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Zimbabwe, Victor Angelo, said in a statement dated May 11, received by AFP yesterday, that the international community will not be able to move quickly to help Zimbabwe if it appeals for food aid. A crop and food assessment mission, comprising UN technical experts and government officials, was cancelled last week when the government recalled its field officers.”We are concerned that, should a food assistance need be identified later in the year, and were the government to issue an appeal at that time, a very rapid response may not be possible,” read part of the statement.The government this week said it would not be asking for international food aid because it predicts a harvest of 2.4 million tonnes of staple maize, much higher than the minimum requirement of 1.8 million tonnes to feed Zimbabweans and livestock.Donors would be hesitant to respond to an appeal by Zimbabwe for food aid because the UN had been unable to carry out “an assessment of needs at the time of harvest”, Angelo warned.Aid agencies and independent analysts say that around five million Zimbabweans will this year require food aid and that the country may face a shortfall of 900 000 tonnes of maize.The government’s figure of a bumper harvest follows three years of chronic food shortages that have affected millions of Zimbabweans.The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has dismissed the government’s food forecasts as a distortion aimed at trying to paint the country’s four-year-old land reform programme in a positive light.The controversial programme, which has seen the seizure of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to new black farmers, has been cited as one of the reasons for the food shortages.- Nampa-AFPA crop and food assessment mission, comprising UN technical experts and government officials, was cancelled last week when the government recalled its field officers.”We are concerned that, should a food assistance need be identified later in the year, and were the government to issue an appeal at that time, a very rapid response may not be possible,” read part of the statement.The government this week said it would not be asking for international food aid because it predicts a harvest of 2.4 million tonnes of staple maize, much higher than the minimum requirement of 1.8 million tonnes to feed Zimbabweans and livestock.Donors would be hesitant to respond to an appeal by Zimbabwe for food aid because the UN had been unable to carry out “an assessment of needs at the time of harvest”, Angelo warned.Aid agencies and independent analysts say that around five million Zimbabweans will this year require food aid and that the country may face a shortfall of 900 000 tonnes of maize.The government’s figure of a bumper harvest follows three years of chronic food shortages that have affected millions of Zimbabweans.The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has dismissed the government’s food forecasts as a distortion aimed at trying to paint the country’s four-year-old land reform programme in a positive light.The controversial programme, which has seen the seizure of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to new black farmers, has been cited as one of the reasons for the food shortages.- Nampa-AFP