Mugabe’s land policies to blame for food shortages

By Tichaona Sibanda
06 March 2006

The MDC Secretary for lands and agriculture, Renson Gasela, has said Robert Mugabe should accept full responsibility for the serious food shortages currently sweeping through the country.

Mugabe has been denying that his land reform programme has contributed to the crisis, blaming the effects of drought instead.

But Gasela took Mugabe to task on Monday when he said his land reform programme has brought the country to its knees.

‘For instance, wheat is a crop grown under irrigation and the country’s dams are full at the moment, so how do you shift the blame to drought when all irrigation infrastructure was vandalised through land reform,’ queried Gasela.

The country used to produce between 250-300 000 tonnes of wheat every season but there has been a general decline of production since Mugabe’s infamous land grab exercise.

Last year, said Gasela, the country produced only 80 000 tonnes and the situation got worse when people started vandalising farming equipment, most of which has been grabbed by top government officials.

It’s feared that shortages of wheat could force bakers to import flour from South Africa, which could lead to more price rises. Already a loaf of bread costs nearly Z$70 000, having risen 30 percent in just one week.

The country’s leading millers, National Foods, Blue Ribbon and Victoria are reported to have shut down production at most of their mills because of the wheat shortage.