Chronicle Editor
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
BEITBRIDGE District Administrator, Mrs Kiliboni Ndou-Mbedzi has urged Government to increase food aid to Beitbridge saying at least 12 000 households are in need of assistance.
Speaking during a Rural District Development Committee (RDDC) meeting last week, Mrs Ndou-Mbedzi said the 54 tonnes they were receiving each month were not enough against a monthly requirement of 500 tonnes.
She said there was need to review the grain allocation for Beitbridge.
“We are appealing for Government to review the grain allocation for Beitbridge,”she said.
“A crop and livestock assessment programme was conducted recently, we are yet to get the feedback on the exact numbers in need of food assistance on the ground, but indications are that we have a deficit.”
Mrs Ndou said it was sad that the allocation of grain for the district was not reflective of the dire situation on the ground.
She said Beitbridge District has over 18 000 households with the majority concentrated in rural areas.
She described the area as a cattle country where crop production was not conducive, hence the need to prioritise grain availability.
“We hope the post-harvest information will be availed to us by the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development so that we may map the way forward.
“Although indications early in the year were that most farmers were poised for a bumper harvest, we should take into account that some crops were destroyed by wild animals and pests. The worst affected are those people living close to rivers and other water bodies,” she said.
Mrs Ndou said elephants had become a perennial threat to crop production in Beitbridge.
According to a report by the RDDC’s subcommittee on Social Services, a total of 11 678 pupils in Beitbridge had been put on the schools feeding scheme, covering 64 rural primary schools.
The beneficiaries are children in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) classes as well as those in Grades One and Two.
Online Reporter