A new multilateral food security report has urged the Zimbabwean government to take steps to make the domestic grain market more efficient while stepping up cereal imports.
The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee said poor harvests in 2009-2010 could leave 1.4 million rural dwellers short of their minimum cereal requirements. The report urged Harare to increase cereal imports to make up for the projected shortfall.
The food assessment is carried out three times a year by the government in cooperation with non-governmental organizations and international donors.
Renson Gasela, agriculture secretary for the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that grain redistribution won’t help because production has fallen short.
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