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Zimbabwe Needs $171 Million to Deal With Rural Food Shortages

More than two million Zimbabweans may need support to buy food between January and March 2019, according to a report released.

Zimbabwe Needs $171 Million to Deal With Rural Food Shortages
A street vendor sells food, refreshments and mobile phone airtime vouchers on a roadside at dusk in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- More than two million Zimbabweans may need support to buy food between January and March 2019, according to a report released Tuesday by the government and the World Food Programme.

Fall armyworm, a pest that eats mainly corn, erratic rainfall and a decline in cash remittances sent to rural families by relatives contributed to food insecurity,” according to the the report, produced annually and known as the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee. The worst affected areas are Matabeleland North, Masvingo and Matabeleland South, it said.

“The country requires $140 million to buy cereals and $31 million for other food commodities to provide a full food basket for the vulnerable households,” the report said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Latham in Harare at blatham@bloomberg.net;Godfrey Marawanyika in Harare at gmarawanyika@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone, Helen Nyambura

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