Online Reporter
Theseus Shambare
ABOUT 1,2 million food-insecure Zimbabweans have begun receiving food assistance as the Government and the World Food Programme (WFP) rolled out lean season interventions, expected to run from January to March 2026.
While the current 2025-26 summer cropping season promises better yields, the Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee (ZimLAC) reports that about 15 percent of the rural population remains food insecure, with 34 districts recording food insecurity levels of 10 percent and above.
A lean season is the period each year when food stocks run low and vulnerable households need assistance before the next harvest.
Government and partners are targeting 1 241 243 individuals in these districts. The State will maintain the standard allocation of 7,5 kilogrammes of grain per person per month.
To reduce transport costs, households will receive three-month allocations at once, covering January to March.
Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Permanent Secretary, Mr Simon Masanga, said the current Food Deficit Mitigation Programme cycle is among the strongest in recent years, following a relatively improved 2024/25 agricultural season.
“We started late because very few districts had food insufficiency figures above 10 percent, but as we move into the lean season – January, February and March – Government, working with partners, has already begun interventions,” Mr Masanga said.
He said the Government had adequate grain stocks allocated in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture to cover vulnerable households up to March, adding that support could be extended if necessary.
“People are already benefiting from early-planted crops such as green mealies, vegetables and pumpkins. The picture is looking good, but no one will be left behind. We will be very busy from the end of January into February, but households will receive sufficient stocks for three months in one go,” he said.
Under the partnership arrangement, WFP will support 155 700 beneficiaries across four districts – Kariba, Bulilima, Mwenezi and Mberengwa – between January and March 2026.
In Kariba and Bulilima, the Government will provide cereals while WFP supplies pulses and cooking oil, alongside logistical support.
Speaking at the WFP Harare sub-office warehouse during the start of food loading, WFP Zimbabwe country director Barbara Clemens said the 2025 ZimLAC assessment estimated about 1,5 million people would be food insecure.
“WFP planned to assist roughly a third of those assessed, but due to funding constraints, we will reach about 200 000 vulnerable people across five districts,” she said.
Ms Clemens said, unlike 2024 when Zimbabwe faced an El Niño-induced drought, the current situation reflects predictable, recurring lean season vulnerabilities affecting households with limited incomes, the elderly, people living with disabilities, and single-headed families.
