‘We’ve enough food’

Government, he said, was closely monitoring the situation and had put in place measures to ensure that vulnerable households would not be left without food.

He said although the expected El Niño could adversely affect agricultural production in some areas, the country had sufficient food stocks to cushion communities that might experience poor harvests.

Government was particularly concerned about households that could record poor harvests due to inadequate rainfall and would therefore strengthen social protection programmes to assist affected communities, he explained.

Dr Musokotwane said interventions such as the Social Cash Transfer and Cash for Work programmes would be used to support households that might struggle to meet their basic needs.

“We know that there will be challenges in some areas because of El Niño, but we are putting measures in place to make sure that no one dies from hunger,” he said.

The Minister said the Government’s response would focus on ensuring that vulnerable people had access to food and other essential needs throughout the period when the effects of the weather pattern were expected to be felt.

He said the availability of food stocks from previous good farming seasons had given the country an important buffer against possible disruptions to agricultural production.

Dr Musokotwane said the Government would continue assessing the situation and take additional measures where necessary to protect communities that could be affected by the weather conditions.

He said the Government’s priority was to ensure that the anticipated El Niño did not translate into a humanitarian crisis, particularly among households that depended heavily on subsistence farming.

“We are aware of the challenges that El Niño presents, but all is in place. We will continue to respond to the situation and ensure that our people are protected,” Dr Musokotwane said.