Written by Kitsepile Nyathi
Published on 11th May 2021

Following consecutive droughts, Zimbabwe received above-normal rainfall at the end of this summer crop season. This has resulted in the country’s largest harvest of maize in the last twenty years. According to official reports, Zimbabwe has yielded 2.7 million tonnes of this staple grain during the summer crop season, which is 150% above average and a 200% increase from the previous year’s harvest.

 There is expected to be a surplus of 820,00 tonnes of cereal, which has not occurred since the 2000/2001 crop season when former President Mugabe seized commercial farms owned by white residents in the country. Mugabe’s land reforms heavily contributed to the breakdown of Zimbabwe’s agriculture-based economy and led to mass food shortages, which continue to impact half of the population who are dependent on aid agencies. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FewsNet) reported that the “above-average harvest is driving increases in agricultural labour opportunities, especially in typical surplus producing areas.”

Read the Full Story at https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/rest-of-africa/bumper-crop-zimbabwe-3396112