A severe drought in the dry Matabeleland region is threatening the livelihoods of the local people and their livestock. Water reservoirs have reportedly dried up and domestic animals are under threat. A villager who spoke to NewZimbabwe said
This year’s drought has been severe. Our cattle are dying because there is not enough water to drink. We travel long distances for cattle to survive…We are appealing to the government to intervene and solve our water problem and food as well… It must fix our dam so that we can survive…We want food and water for us and our cattle to survive.
In an interview with the Voice of America (VOA), the World Food Programme (WFP) director in Zimbabwe, Eddie Rowe said
As we speak, we know that in almost every district, most of these households have run out of their harvests and now depend on the market and we all know the problem we are facing. not just a commodity availability problem, but prices in purchasing these basic commodities.
In Zimbabwe, we have an estimated 28 per cent of the rural population that is considered in a very challenging [situation] when it comes to access to and availability of food for this agriculture season 2018/2019.
Back to top