HARARE – Despite claiming wheat sufficiency, the Zimbabwe government has received more than 2,000 tonnes of wheat and rice from China to go towards feeding the elderly, children’ homes and persons with disabilities.
According to government, Zimbabwe achieved its largest wheat harvest in 2022 that reached 375,000 tonnes, making it self-sufficient.
The bumper harvest was against an annual national requirement of 360,000 tonnes.
The donation received by Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Paul Mavima included 1,056 tonnes of rice and 1,056 tonnes of wheat.
Mavima told reporters that the donation will be passed on to old and children’s homes, the elderly and disabled persons as well as beefing stocks in the event of an emergency.
“It does not matter that Zimbabwe is getting to self-sufficiency as far as wheat is concerned but there is a friendship that we are celebrating and this is a situation of ‘one good turn deserves another’.
“We have a lot of children’s homes, old peoples’ homes and homes that house people with disabilities and these are the primary beneficiaries of this food.
“We use this food to also respond to disaster calls coming from different communities in our country,” he said.
Mavima defended the food aid saying even when the country records a bumper harvest, some communities would still need assistance.
“Even when you have a bumper harvest, some wards, some districts may still have drought and some may have been affected by water logging and therefore did not have a good harvest.
“This food will go a long way in order to alleviate the problems in those areas,” he said.
The minister said the cereals will ensure that vulnerable people are reached with food.
“As evidenced here, all the beneficiaries are represented during this handover ceremony including the elderly, children’s homes as well as Persons with Disabilities.
“As the Government of Zimbabwe awaits the release of the results of the 2023 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee Rural Livelihood Assessment, which guides the implementation of the Food Deficit Mitigation Strategy, this donation will go a long way in complementing Government efforts of alleviating hunger as it responds to distress calls for food assistance across the country in the spirit of leaving no one behind.
“It is therefore my ministry’s mandate to ensure that the distribution of the donated rice and flour will mainly target on vulnerable people, who include the Elderly, Chronically ill, Persons with Disabilities and Child Headed Households, victims of other disasters, registered institutions accommodating vulnerable children, destitute older persons and PWDs (persons with disabilities,” he said.
Speaking at the occasion, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding said since 2002, China has delivered over ten shipments of food supplies to Zimbabwe.
“Our bilateral relations have always followed the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and with concrete actions,” he said.
