Government must urgently pre-empt the evident 2011-2012 drought.
*By Takura Zhangazha.
There is probably nothing as forlorn as watching your crops wilt
in January and February 2012 for the subsistence
communal farmer in Zimbabwe. This is because it is these two months that are most
indicative of whether one will have a
successful harvesting season or not. In our country’s instance, the rains have
been poor during the 2011 -2012 planting season and the plants have been a disappointment for many a subsistence farmer. This is particularly so for
the most drought prone Zimbabwean geo-political provinces of Matebeleland,
Masvingo, Midlands and in parts of Manicaland and Mashonaland West. It is however important to note that it is information
relating to such a potential development was available to our government.
The Famine Early Warning System Network (Fewsnet) had already
projected that there would be serious resource mobilization challenges for food
assistance programmes for those that it refers to as the ‘food insecure
population’. Even though the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) Climate Services Center had already indicated
that this season’s majority rainfall for Zimbabwe would occur between November
and December, it is now apparent that the amount that fell to date has been inadequate.
It also appears that even the projected outlook for rainfall is low for the
period between February and April 2012.
So as it is, it is fairly evident that there is a drought
pending in greater parts of Zimbabwe this season. Whereas in some instances the
fault for empty domestic silos may be the fault of bad farming techniques by
individual farmers, it would be fair to say that for the majority it is the
fault of nature. It simply did not rain adequately and therefore even the hardest
working subsistence farmers are now vulnerable to the threat of hunger and loss of some sort of income for their livelihoods.
And this is a point that must be made very clear to the
inclusive government and other powerful agricultural stakeholders. In the occurrences
of droughts over the last ten years, the state has had the wrong approach of
seeking to react to the occurrence of the event in its aftermath as opposed to
pre-empting and preparing thoroughly as the rainy season progresses. This is
regardless of the fact that there is
generally a direct reliance by the government on the assistance of
international aid donors to provide food aid in the occurrence of the drought.
Whereas the government has been told to
prepare for drought relief and has had a drought relief strategy, its ability implement
such programmes has lacked the necessary urgency that would reduce the inhumane
trauma of famine.
Further to this, the government has generally suffered from
the mistake that sometimes afflicts those with the power and ability to help
drought stricken nations and societies. This is the mistake of being too slow
to react even in circumstances where the warning signs of a pending famine have
been clear. An example of this, though our situation is nowhere near being as
dire, is the famine in Somalia which was reported by Oxfam and Save the Children as having been exacerbated
by an overall slow response by the international community.
To make matters worse, recent statements attributed
to the provincial governor of Masvingo, Mr Titus Maluleke relating to the banning
of, amongst others, food aid related international
non-governmental organizations point to the politicization of drought relief
assistance. Such statements that place
politics at the heart of food aid and agricultural/ water reticulation development
assistance is as negative as it is most unfortunate. They evidently point to a
government that is insensitive to the inhumane and degrading experience that famine
or food shortages visit upon all citizens regardless of political affiliation.
Regardless of the politicized nature of food aid during
droughts, it is imperative that it be brought to bear on the inclusive
government that the issue of drought related hunger is an urgent national
matter. Any form of procrastination on it will lead to the needless suffering
of the country’s citizens, particularly a population majority whose livelihoods
are dependent on subsistence agriculture. Central, provincial and local governments have
to revisit whatever drought mitigation strategies that they have in order to
pre-empt the adverse effects of famine in greater parts of Zimbabwe.
This would also include immediate public announcements by
relevant ministries and the highest political offices in the land as to the
nature and gravity of the drought that has affected the 2011-2012 agricultural
season as well as an urgent call for outside help if we do not have adequate food
reserves to feed the people of Zimbabwe.
In this it would be particularly important that the inclusive
government de-politicizes the drought for selfish political benefit and
approach the matter with the fortitude of a leadership that is responsive to
the needs of the people it claims to lead.
It would be even more important that all this debate and public acrimony
on constitutional reform or elections not be allowed to interfere with drought
relief processes. This can be done by setting up an independent Drought Relief
Agency to tackle not only this nascent 2011-2012 famine but any such future famines.
*takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com
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