FAO/WFP crop and food security assessment mission to Zimbabwe
High food insecurity persists in Zimbabwe in spite of improvements in agricultural production and a more liberal import policy this year, according to a report issued by FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP). Good rainfall meant 2009 production of the staple crop, maize, is estimated to have more than doubled - to 1.14 million metric tonnes - an increase of 130 percent on the record low harvest of 2008, the report said. But the report also includes forecast production of winter-season wheat of only about 12,000 tonnes, the lowest ever, reflecting the high cost of fertilizers and quality seeds, farmers