Zimbabwe declares disaster over drought as crop output drop,



The Zimbabwean government has declared a state of disaster in all urban and rural areas following a drought that has cut crop output by more than half, the Civil Protection Unit said in the Government Gazette.

The drought has affected more than 5.7 million people, according to aid agencies, and the country expects to import as much as 800,000 tons of corn. Zimbabwe’s government has appealed for $464 million to stave off famine.
Zimbabwe agreed to buy 150,000 tons of South African corn after a tender five times that size failed, leaving the country short of grain as the number of people without adequate food rises, according to people familiar with the situation.
The grain is being supplied by Export Trading Group, said the people, who asked not to be identified as a public announcement hasn’t been made. The deal is for white corn, a staple food in Zimbabwe, and specifically non-genetically modified grain.
The southern African nation needs to import corn after a drought and floods from a cyclone slashed harvests. Zimbabwe’s corn crop is expected to plummet 54% this year and Agriculture Secretary Ringson Chitsiko warned in March the country only had seven months of grain stockpiles, including corn.
The government chose to negotiate smaller deals like the one with ETG after failing to agree on payment terms for an at least 750,000-ton international tender, said the people. Zimbabwe is in the midst of its worst financial crisis since 2008 and is struggling to finance essential imports of fuel and wheat.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-18/zimbabwe-buys-150-000-tons-south-african-corn-after-tender-fails


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AquaPonics: latest environmental and climate friendly way of gardening

Image
Aquaponic is a combination of two words, Aqua – water and Ponics-Farm in a box. “Aquaponics an environmentally-friendly, natural food growing method to facilitate the cultivation of fish and plants together in a constructed, re-circulating ecosystem utilizing natural bacterial cycles to convert fish wastes to plant nutrients. “So it is also called as recirculation farming. Recirculation farms are a socially responsible farming method and business too; they support the use of renewable energy, recycle water and waste, and provide local food. Aquaponic systems are much more productive and use up to 90 percent less water than conventional gardens. Other advantages include no weeds, fewer pests, and no watering, fertilizing, bending, digging or heavy lifting etc. there are different types of aquaponic like Media Bed - (using a substance such as lave rocks or other medium other than soil for raising plants and bacteria) Raft - (using foam boards with cut outs to place planter pots floati...
Read more

Nipah Virus infection is zoonosis, chicken are also indirectly involve

Image
Now a days various messages on social media warns Pakistani nation to avoid chicken consumption, because its source of Nipah virus, In Pakistan production of poultry products is very high to fulfill the consumption requirements. For Layman it is confusing and  debatable either chicken is source of Nipah virus or not, mostly said no its fake news, chicken is safe its not the cause of spread, other said avoid the chicken consumption because, prevention is better than cure. Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both humans and animals. "Zoonosis means a disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals". Nipah virus was first identified in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. The pigs were the intermediate hosts during that outbreak. Around 1.1 million pigs had to be killed to control the outbreak. However, it is not necessary to have an intermediate host during Nipah Virus outbreak. The natural host of ...
Read more

Precautionary measurements in the event of an earthquake-by-Naseem Sheikh

Image
Here are some of the precautions that can be taken to minimize the potential loss of execution. With these measures and premature awareness, we can prevent earthquake damage. [caption id="attachment_media-133" align="aligncenter" width="289"] Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com [/caption] Control your senses if you feel an earthquake. Instead of panicking, jumping from the top floor and screaming without panic, they can easily get out of the building so it is better to stay where they are. Cover your head with your hands with both hands, and sit down in a corner instead of the middle of the room. If there is a strong table or bed, seek shelter under it. If no heavy furniture is nearby, seek shelter under the door frame or under the stairs, as the doors sometimes jam with jerks. When in the kitchen or in the lab, close the valve as soon as the shock is mild, try to get out. If you're on the top floor, don't go down the stairs during the tremors...
Read more