He said the country had enough maize stocks to last for the next eight months with imports through the loan facility expected to start in September.
“We have secured a line of credit of about 200 million dollars to pay for the maize from September thereabout going forward but still we need more,” the governor said.
While the governor did not specify the quantity of maize to be imported and from where, agriculture minister Joseph Made recently said the country will need to import up to 700,000 tonnes of the staple maize to avert hunger as the El Nino weather pattern brings poor rains and affects crops in the country.
Zimbabwe has been importing grain over the past few years to cover for shortfalls due to poor weather conditions.
However, a devastating drought this year has pushed up grain import requirements for the country which is battling a serious liquidity crunch.
According to the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee, an estimated 1.5 million rural Zimbabweans will face food shortages in the first three months of this year.
Agriculture is critical to Zimbabwe’s economy, generating 30 percent of export earnings and contributing 19 percent to GDP. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
