Thousands of city residents are ignoring a government ban on the growing of crops in the cities. Patches of green maize in the fields are already emerging as residents battle to grow food for themselves in a country decimated by the seizure of productive farms in a violent campaign by Zanu PF. When government launched operation ‘murambatsvina’ and bulldozed the homes and vending stalls of thousands of urban poor they also banned them from farming their urban plots insisting it was damaging the environment.

In a country with chronic food shortages however the ban was always going to be hard to enforce and as it turns out, thousands are ignoring it. Residents who spoke to Newsreel say they are prepared to take a gamble by growing their own maize rather than to starve to death by not growing anything at all. Accessing maize from the Grain Marketing Board has proved a futile exercise to many who say only well connected people and politicians are getting the maize.

On Tuesday Newsreel covered a story on how Zanu PF officials have been looting grain from the GMB and reselling for a profit on the black market. This has created a desperate situation for Zimbabweans who view the farming of urban plots as a way out. The spokesman for the government appointed commission running Harare, Leslie Gwindi warned of action against people growing crops in the city. In an interview with IRIN Gwindi said they could only grow crops on certain designated urban farms situated on the city’s outskirts.