In an interview, the provincial vice-chairperson for the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU), Mrs Sister Moyo, said people in Gwanda South were facing hunger, as most villagers are poor.

“People in Gwanda are facing severe hunger this year and this has been made worse by the fact that most of them are poor and can hardly raise money for food,” said Mrs Moyo.

She said the area was also facing serious food shortages and as such hoped donor aid could come and help alleviate poverty among the villagers.

It is reported that at one time villagers were exchanging about five goats for a 50-kilogramme bag of maize. “Unscrupulous buyers were taking advantage of starvation in the area by demanding at least five goats in exchange for a 50 kilogramme bag of maize and this was not fair at all.

“We are therefore appealing to relevant authorities to intervene so as to avoid such situations and hope more food could be made available,” she said.

Mr Adreas Ndebele, a farmer from Malitlou village, confirmed the development saying donor aid was needed so as to complement the self-sustenance projects other villagers had undertaken in the district.

“A number of people from Matabeleland South barely have food to eat and others, especially farmers, have undertaken self-sustenance projects but what they are getting from the projects is still not enough.

“As a way of complementing these projects in the wake of the drought, donor aid would be welcome and greatly appreciated,” said Mr Ndebele.

He said they had raised concern over the matter and wished Government could intervene as crops did not do well this season.

“We would like the Government to intervene because if you see even drought resistant crops failing, it spells doom,” he said.

A field officer from Hlekweni Training Centre who declined to be named said food reserves for most villagers were dwindling and that was a cause for concern.

She said: “Despite the pleas from the villagers for donor aid, they have to be wary of these donors and try to shun the syndrome of dependency and look for alternative sources of getting food other than donors.”

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