By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
SOME parts of Zambia are expected to be hit by hunger after experiencing crop failure due to the dry spells, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has announced.
The country is expected in the next few weeks to have food shortage which would leave millions of Zambians in need of food relief.
The DMMU has since prepared itself for relief food distribution mainly in Western, Southern and parts of Central provinces.
DMMU National co-ordinator Patrick Kangwa said when he appeared before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday that some parts of Zambia in a few weeks time would experience food shortage and the DMMU had prepared for it.
Mr Kangwa was responding to Luena Alliance for Democracy and Development Member of Parliament (MP) Gertrude Imenda and Lubansenshi independent MP Patrick Mucheleka who wanted to know if DMMU was aware of the food crisis that was looming in Zambia.
“We took note of the rain patterns and the Metrological Department, the Ministry of Agriculture and ourselves have had meetings discussing the same,” he said.
Mr Kangwa said currently, officers in the Ministry of Agriculture were carrying out a crop focus survey to make final determinations on the extent of the problem.
He said the affected areas were not just in need of relief food but would require water relief as well.
The Water Department has been notified of the impeding development.
Initially, Mr Kangwa said the country had normal rainfall in the first three months of the rainy season but the patterns became abnormal afterwards when it was affected by two dry spells.
He said the second dry spell was worse than the first one causing crop failure in some parts of Zambia.
Mr Kangwa said in Sikongo District in Western Province, DMMU was still giving food relief to the people due to the crisis from the last farming season and would still need food relief even this season.
“We are ready to undertake the food relief exercise but the challenge of lack of staff members at district level will still be there to exhibit some short comings and we also require names and National Registration Cards for identified recipients,” he said.
Mr Kangwa said non-governmental organisations have been earmarked to distribute the food to ensure transparency of the process.
He said the district disaster mitigating committee was chaired by the District Commissioner (DC) and members representing different stakeholders who sat on those committees that identified victims.
The DMMU, Mr Kangwa said, was aware of sentiments from some people who felt that DCs were politically affiliated and that was why Non Governmental Organisations  had been picked to distribute relief food.
He urged MPs to sit on those committees or pick representatives to do.
Meanwhile, PAC heard that 23.35 tonnes of maize seed worth K198 million in 2013 was destroyed in Chipata by weevils and larger grain borers and was therefore not distributed to intended beneficiaries.
Mr Kangwa said the seed was received in good condition but by the time it was ready for distribution, it had been attacked and could therefore not be distributed nor would the supplier replace it.