adminPhyllis Kachere
Deputy News Editor (Convergence)
Bhukuvhani villagers in Mwenezi District have appealed for irrigation facilities to reduce vulnerability to climate related challenges such as drought and crop failures.
This came out during a needs assessment exercise conducted by the , with funding support from the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), in Mwenezi district last week.
The district lies in agro-ecological Region 1V with an average rainfall of 540mm per annum and highly abnormal temperatures hovering above 25 degrees Celsius in summer.
The poor rainfall pattern has been exacerbated by the El-Nino-induced drought that resulted in little or no harvest for the majority of households in Zimbabwe.
Because of its location, Mwenezi is one of the hardest hit districts, with a majority of the residents facing severe food insecurity.
A number of children in the area miss school as their families are food insecure.
Orphaned siblings Tariro (14) and Rejoice (13) Zvavona who stay with their maternal grandmother Mrs Bester Sidhava (74) in Bhukuvhani Village in Mwenezi District’s Ward 1 say their education has been compromised as they regularly miss classes because of food insecurity.
Tariro, who is in Form One at Mwenezi Government Secondary School, about 5km from her home said their elderly grandmother was failing to provide food for them forcing them to miss school.
“In a week, Rejoice and I miss classes depending on our food situation. Granny begs for food from our neighbours, who now no longer have enough. When she gets something, we are assured of going to school the following day,” said Tariro.
The situation is similar for Mrs Beatrice Tizirai (32), who has four children, three of who are at the local primary school.
Mrs Tizirai said it was better for her school-going children to miss classes than attend classes on empty stomachs.
“The school is about 3km from here. It is difficult for a child to walk that distance on an empty stomach. It is better for them to stay home and we eat marula nuts.
“It worries me that my children are not attending classes. I know their education will be the only way of empowerment. But now, they have to stop.
“I have no idea how we will get to the next season. My husband, who used to provide for us as he was an artisanal miner died in June, leaving me pregnant. I also have responsibility to look after my elderly mother-in-law, Mrs Chipo Madzikatire (70) who is also HIV+ and is on antiretroviral therapy. Her condition requires nutritious meals, but we do not have enough food. I am appealing for assistance,” said Mrs Tizirai.
At Mrs Shaulani Makanganise’s homestead in the same ward, the situation was no different. The 71-year-old said she and her five grandchildren, one of whom is living with disability and cannot sit or feed himself have no food.
“Four of my grandchildren lost both parents and I am their only relative. I had to take them in. This disabled one’s mother left for South Africa when he was four; now he is 12 and she has never come back. I do not know if she is still alive or dead. She has never sent word of her situation. I am struggling to feed them.
“Four of my grandchildren are of school going age, but they have since dropped out. The school is far away and they cannot walk on empty stomachs. It worries me,” said Mrs Makanganise.
Ward 14 Councillor Admire Matutu said water for people and livestock is limited as all the water sources have dried up.
“Food insecurity has hit the wards. Most of the boreholes have dried up, with the few remaining clearly overwhelmed by both humans and livestock. Our schools have also recorded high numbers of drop outs as most children are staying home because of food insecurity.
“I appeal for assistance to tap the Manyuchi Dam water for irrigation. The few boreholes are overwhelmed, I appeal for solar power for these and piped water schemes. The villagers and livestock walk for long distances in search of water, they will not have to manually draw the water if these boreholes are solarised,” said Cllr Matutu.
The district’s Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development gender officer, Mrs Abigail Murwira, said the food insecurity faced by Mwenezi has contributed significantly to gender based violence, child marriages and dropping out of school by girls, mostly.
“I do not have the figures off my head, but I have dealt with more cases of gender-based violence this year and I attribute this to food insecurity. Partners tend to fight more when there is little or no food. Girls have also dropped out of school only for them to be married off as families search for livelihoods. This drought has made these challenges worse,” said Mrs Murwira.
Assistant District Development Coordinator Mr Martin Vunganai said Mwenezi faced serious water challenges for both human and livestock.
“The district is at 47 percent food insecurity and we are in peak hunger period. We fall in Region 4 and 5. We have water challenges as the water table here is too low for the productive sinking of boreholes. Most partners who have tried sinking boreholes have hit dry holes leaving the district with few perennial boreholes.
“This results in a stampede. The only river that cuts across the district is the Mwenezi River which also supplies Manyuchi Dam and if we can get assistance to harness its waters for irrigation, this may help reduce the food insecurity that is prevalent in most households.”
Mr Vunganai said Mwenezi was a livestock rearing district, but because of the drought, water for the livestock had become limited, with the tracking distances getting longer.
“This is resulting in livestock deaths, a loss which the already under pressure farmers are experiencing. They also do not have produce to sell, meaning they cannot pay school fees.
“Through our partners, we are distributing food to some of the vulnerable households in 14 wards. But more still need food assistance. The dire water shortage needs urgent intervention,” said Mr Vunganai.
Distribution of food relief to the needy people is in full swing in all parts of the country to ensure that vulnerable communities acquire enough food for their families.
By July 30, at least 101 170 tonnes of grain had been distributed to vulnerable households as Government scales up efforts to contain the effects of the El-Nino-induced drought.
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In April, President Mnangagwa declared a nationwide state of disaster and appealed for US$2 billion to the UN, aid agencies and individuals to avert hunger caused by the El Nino-induced drought.
“Preliminary assessment shows that Zimbabwe requires in excess of US$2 billion toward various interventions we envisage in the spectrum for our national response. Zimbabwe is expecting 868 000 tonnes of grain this year, about 680 000 tonnes less than the country’s needs,” he said then.
The 2023 Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee (ZimLAC) projected that 26 percent (2 715 717 people) of the country’s population would be food insecure during the lean period of January-March with 2 722 tonnes of grain comprising 405 tonnes of traditional grains and 2 317 tonnes of maize have been distributed to 247 576 food-insecure people, under the Food Deficit Mitigation Programme.
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