WB grants Zimbabwe $7 mln in agricultural aid

HARARE, Sept. 12 -- The World Bank (WB) has unveiled a7 million U.S. dollars grant to assist 300,000 needy communal farmers in Zimbabwe for this year's agricultural season under the country's Emergency Agricultural Inputs Project, The Herald said on Saturday.

The grant is targeted at food insecure communal areas with each family receiving 10 kg of maize seed and 50kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer before mid-November.

Addressing journalists in Harare on Friday, WB senior agricultural economist David Rohrbach said the program, which was expected to run for 18 months, was funded by the bank's Global Food Crisis Response Program with funds provided by the Australian Agency for International Development.

Rohrbach said the program would be implemented by a United Kingdom firm, GRM International Limited, using some funds from The Netherlands, DFID, Australia and the European Union.

The funding is supporting short-term activities to reduce Zimbabwe's dependence on high cost food imports and food aid by providing improved maize seed in order to increase food production levels of poor farm households and to help them meet their grain consumption requirements.

"The program is expected to be completed in 18 months and ensure the provision of improved seed necessary for land under maize and crop yields in general," said Rohrbach.

The fertilizer and seed would cover half a hectare per household, which would assist in fighting the dependency syndrome among Zimbabweans.

Most of the seed will be distributed directly to farmers by 20 selected non-governmental organizations contracted by GRM International.

A small portion of the seed will be distributed through a pilot seed voucher program linked with rural retail shops.

The selection process will prioritize female-headed households and those with high dependency ratios caused by HIV and Aids or chronic diseases.

The program, Rohrbach said, would go a long way in supporting the government's Short Term Emergency Recovery Plan and in alleviating food shortages.