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THE FOOD CRISIS
The Human Rights Forum apologizes to readers for the non-production of the Human Rights Monthly for the year due to logistical constraints. The publication resumes with this issue covering the last 12 months and will thereafter continue to be published on a monthly basis from the September 2003 issue. This issue focuses on the food crisis in Zimbabwe, a critical issue affecting every Zimbabwean citizen.
Food is a basic human right. It is inherently related to the fundamental right to life. This means the state has an obligation to ensure that at the very least people do not starve by ensuring food accessibility in terms of price, distance and availability. The onus is also on the state to ensure that there is transparent food distribution and to ascertain non-discrimination in such distribution. According to Article 11 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Zimbabwe ratified in 1991:
"The State Parties to the present Covenant recognise the rights of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing...the State parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realisation of this right.
Origins of the Crisis
A worsening food crisis arising from increasing scarcity and expense has loomed over Zimbabwe since 2000. The crisis has natural and political dimensions. Erratic rains that reduced grain harvests plagued the 1999/2000 rainy season. Extensive flooding induced by Cyclone Eline followed in February 2000 and as a result 3 of the country’s 10 provinces, Masvingo, Midlands and Manicaland, were officially declared as being in a state of disaster with the floods washing away more than 63 000 hectares of crops. In 2002, Zimbabwe again experienced heavy rains and subsequent flooding in the north while drought prevailed in Matabeleland South and Masvingo where it was reported that maize harvests failed and some farmers did not even plant their crops due to lack of rain. Thus, even before consideration of the political factors and their implications, environmental factors had already made steady agricultural production problematic.
Economically, land scarcities, rising costs of inputs, falling terms of trade for food crops, and increasing poverty induced by economic policies and AIDS have reduced household food security and national returns from food production.
Politically, the manner in which land redistribution has been undertaken since 2000 has impacted adversely on food production in the country. This was subsequently aggravated by the Government’s belated acknowledgement of the problem and its delay in addressing the food crisis. While politically expedient, the Fast Track Land Reform Program accompanied by illegal land occupations in 2000 and 2001 impacted on security of tenure and subsequently led to a collapse in reliable production. As early as May 2000 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned that if violence and instability continued on the farms there would be a "serious drop in food production and supply, jeopardizing national food security".
Communal farmers who were resettled on commercial farms had limited access to inputs, and unlike their predecessors, they had no title deeds through which to obtain loans commercially. Most relied on Government for handouts of seed and fertilizer but the Government was unable to provide them: it was plagued by an acute shortage of foreign currency and local capital, which left it unable to import adequate inputs and equipment for the agricultural sector. Thus, most resettled farmers were unable to plant any sizable hectarage; and for those who could, lack of fertilizers meant a dismal harvest. According to the NGO Food Security Network (FOSENET) during the 2002/2003 season only 18% of households reported that they had obtained adequate seed by November 2002.
Early warning can stop a shortage from turning into a famine. Advance planning was needed to avert a famine once it was realized that there was a food crisis looming. In spite of many forecasts of a looming crisis, Agriculture Minister Joseph Made denied it and dismissed warnings that had been given since early 2000 by FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Famine Early Warning Support Network (FEWSNET) until the Presidential Elections were over. Government did not officially recognise the food crisis until April 2002 and this had negative consequences for mobilisation of an effective response especially the building up of strategic grain reserves. As a result of letting a high stock deficit occur, when the few stocks that are procured become available there is inevitably panic buying and hoarding by consumers. This has also created a fertile environment for the emergence of a black market taking advantage of the panic and profiteering in the process.
Food Security in Rural and Urban Areas
Both food availability and access problems continue to place urban food security in Zimbabwe at risk. The World Food Programme and FOSENET report that urban hunger is not being adequately recognized by Government and relief agencies. Price controls on most commodities including bread and milk were lifted in May 2003 resulting in their being more readily available on the formal market. However while the commodities have become available they have remained inaccessible in terms of price. With inflation at 359,9% in August 2003 the majority of the urban population will be unable to access basic foodstuffs such as bread, cooking oil and mealie meal.
In rural areas, the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZIMVAC) estimates that there are currently 489 000 ex-commercial farm workers and their families who have neither been resettled nor employed by the new landowners and who require food assistance. As of June 2003 the ZIMVAC estimates that the rural population requiring emergency food aid in the period July through September 2003 will increase from about 792,000 to 2.2 million and the hunger will peak from January through to March 2004 during which period the rural population in need of emergency food aid will reach 4.4 million.
The food crisis also has implications on children’s right to education. At the start of the school year in January 2003, FOSENET reported that children had failed to enrol in school due to hunger in 18 out of 43 district sites monitored. Another phenomenon noted was failure of children to attend school due to financial constraints as their parents or guardians had been forced to divert money intended for school fees towards the purchase of food.
Politicisation of Food
To discriminate between citizens on the ground of their political opinions is a violation of s23 of the Constitution. There have been persistent reports, however, that the Government has done this in the provision of food aid. FOSENET reports that between August 2002 and January 2003 political bias, in conjunction with procedural barriers, have increasingly constrained access to food. The levels of this constraint increased in all districts reporting access problems as follows: 15% in August 2002, 33% in October, 38% in November and 62% in December 2002 to January 2003. The Human Rights Forum and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) both recorded allegations of politicisation of food aid and access in the run-up to the local authority Elections of September 2002 and the Insiza by-election of October 2002. In its report on the Rural District and Urban Council Elections of September 2002 ZESN pointed out that according to its findings in "the minds of some voters the relation between voting itself, voting for Zanu-PF and receiving food aid was clearly established." On 10 October 2002 the WFP temporarily suspended food aid following reports that ZANU PF members had seized 3 tons of maize from their storage facility at Senale Centre, Ward 9 in Insiza.
The MDC cancelled a rally in Insiza on 22 October ahead of the 26 and 27 October 2002 by-election after they had discovered that Jonathan Moyo, the Minister of State for Information and Publicity, and Joseph Made, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, were distributing maize seed at Mahole, the venue of the planned MDC rally at a time coinciding with the timing of the rally.
Future Prospects and Challenges
The harvest from the 2003/2004 season will be determined by the levels and nature of rainfall received and in addition the availability of inputs and equipment. Below is a table showing fertiliser and maize seed costs for the months of April and May 2003.
Table 1: Price differences of maize seed and fertiliser, April and May 2003
|
|
Fertiliser cost Z$/10kg |
Maize seed cost Z$/10kg |
||
|
Formal Market |
Parallel market |
Formal Market |
Parallel market |
|
|
Price range April |
350- 1750 |
500- 3250 |
300- 5000 |
800 - 9000 |
|
Price range May |
520- 5000 |
1200- 7000 |
600- 6000 |
1000 - 15000 |
Source: FOSENET MONITORING REPORT ROUND 8: MAY 2003
Throughout May and June 2003 maize seed and fertiliser were reported to be in short supply on the formal market. Therefore those making early preparations for the coming season had to source inputs from the parallel market. This placed inputs out of the financial reach of most communal and resettled farmers who will be unable to produce a sizeable harvest if any, in the coming season. Improvement in the current food situation as a result of the injection of the 2003 harvest season is set to be short-lived. FOSENET reports that while 60% of districts reported an improvement in the food situation in April 2003 due to the harvest, only 40% of districts reported an improvement in May.
According to the World Food Programme over the next year, six southern African countries - Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, will need to import at least 2.65 million tons of food to meet their minimum needs. Of this total, approximately half will be needed in Zimbabwe.
What needs to be done?
The Zimbabwe Government must take measures to ensure that it meets its obligations in terms of Article 11.2 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which declares that the State Parties, "recognizing the fundamental rights of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international cooperation, the measures, including specific programmes which are needed to improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food." The Government should procure adequate seed and fertilizer before the start of the 2003/2004 growing season to allow adequate preparation of the land. Financial assistance will be required by those whose yields from the 2002/2003 growing season were low and returned little or no profit. This is necessary if Zimbabwe is to move from a position of relief dependency to recovery. Thus government, farmers and the population at large must be prepared for an almost certain deficit in the 2003/2004 agricultural year and begin preparations for this.
There must be cooperation between the donor community, relief organisations and Government in mapping out strategies for relief and recovery. In particular, sectors of the urban population must also be recognised as being in need of food aid and the manner in which this aid will be provided should be worked out as a matter of urgency. In all areas, the management and distribution of food and other relief must be based purely on the criteria of need and not on partisan grounds. However, in the long term, a sustainable solution at the national level lies in addressing the causes of food insecurity such as poverty, unfair political bias, inadequate planning and speculation over food such that there is reduced dependency on food aid and increased food security.
The Human Rights Monthly, carries a brief narrative on the activities of a member of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum in each issue. This is intended to assist our readers to understand the activities of the coalition and furthermore about the services offered by each NGO. This month we feature the Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET).
Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET)
Background Information
The Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust founded in 2000 is a civic organisation that is non-governmental, non-political and non-profit. ZIMCET was registered as a Trust in 2001. The organisation’s core business is education for peace, rights, justice and development. The vision of the ZIMCET is an empowered peaceful Zimbabwean society, which is conscious of its rights and obligations to fully participate in democratic processes.
In response to widespread violence in 2000 ZIMCET initiated a peace-building programme in 2001. ZIMCET believes that peace is the foundation of all development processes. It has not been easy to preach peace since the programme started but a lot of ground has been covered. The organisation has managed to penetrate many of the rural areas. In every constituency ZIMCET has at least one volunteer working with the community at grassroots level. Public meetings, workshops, drama, song, sport and community involvement are ways of building peace that are used by ZIMCET.
How does ZIMCET assist members of the community/ society
In 2001 ZIMCET embarked on a project to build peace among the members of the two main political parties ZANU PF and MDC in Gutu. Initially the project looked ambitious but the results of the two meetings held are an indication that Zimbabweans are tolerant people. ZIMCET has been able to offer skills training for the youths, women and other groups and where possible the organisation has assisted groups get funding for their income generating projects. With such empowerment in some communities the people have been able to reject violence and manipulation. It has been realised that those who perpetrate violence often do it on behalf of other people and not for themselves. Communities are now being encouraged to form peace committees, which they own locally and to which they are accountable.
ZIMCET is targeting the generality of Zimbabwe’s population but especially the youth and women. In times of intensified violence the youth are most affected as both victims and perpetrators. On the hand women suffer in the face of violence.
From time to time ZIMCET makes available information meant to empower people on their rights, justice and development. This information is made available in the languages of the different communities. In the communities where ZIMCET operates victims of violence are identified and referred to other organisations for assistance.
ZIMCET has four regional offices; Bulawayo which covers the Southern region and the Midlands, Chinhoyi which covers Mashonaland West and Central, Mutare which covers Manicaland, Masvingo and Mashonaland East and Harare which covers Harare and Chitungwiza. The ZIMCET Head Office is at 198 Samora Machel Avenue West Belvedere Harare. Telephone 741552, 741358, 740427.
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