HUNGER LOOMS IN KATETE

KATETE District Commissioner, Malan Tembo, has said more than 20,000 households in the district are in need relief food.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS, Mr Zimba disclosed that the number was arrived at after an assessment by the District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC).

“After the assessment, we found out that more than 20,000 households are in dire need of food because our farmers have stopped farming maize which is a staple food. They have gone for the alternative which is Soya Beans because it has a lucrative price on the market,” Mr Tembo said.

Mr Zimba however said that a temporal measure has been instituted to cushion those that were in desperate need of food.

“We are doing community sales with the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) but the quantities are low and only those that have the financial muscle are able to buy,” he said.

Currently, some farmers have sold their crop to briefcase buyers whilst it was still fresh in the fields for them to buy food for their families.

Mr Zimba further appealed to the public to desist from selling their crop even before it was ready because it was disadvantaging them and that it would perpetuate the hunger situation for many months to come.

The assessment was conducted to investigate the food security situation and the impact of disaster incidences in the district.

Faneli Banda who is over 70 years old, said after a heavy downpour, her storage facility got filled up with water and hence, she had no food.

“I have no food as all my mealie meal was put in a drum and the drum got filled with water during a heavy downpour that ripped off the roof of the house. So, we have no food and we are just staying with hunger,” she said.

Another affected resident, Elizabeth Phiri, appealed for urgent relief food as the crop was still not yet ready for harvest. “In all truth, this month and the coming month, help us hastily, otherwise we will die. Give us mealie meal or even maize or rice so that we can have something to eat,” she said.

And Elinati Mwale, a beneficiary of the FRA sales, said she had been helped, saying, feeding herself and her five children was a challenge.

“Our maize finished in October, so we do piece work and from there, we buy some gallons of maize. We are grateful to the government because it has really helped us,” she said.

And Christine Phiri, a mother of two, said last year, the rains were not favorable and so, there was not enough produce hence there was a shortage of food.

Ms Phiri said buying the maize from FRA would at least see her family through until the crop was ready in the field.

“When we buy maize this month of March and by next month, the crop in the field will be ready. So it will give us a push at least for a month. We are grateful to the government and it should continue,” she said.

Another beneficiary Alinesi Sakala said hunger persisted in her household and decided to buy maize as a solution. “Our food finished a week ago so we just find some piece work to buy mealie meal because hunger has persisted, we have come here so that we can be helped,” she said.