ICRC begins Zimbabwe seed distribution programme
20 October 2009
The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has launched a new
seed distribution programme in rural areas of Zimbabwe.
According to the charity, it is operating in Mashonaland East
and Mashonaland Central provinces, north of the Harare, with the
aim of providing 12,000 small-scale farmers with the tools and
skills to ensure regular crops and greater food security for some
60,000 people.
Some 380 tonnes of seeds, 600 tonnes of food and 600 tonnes of
fertiliser will be distributed by the organisation in the Rushinga,
Mbire, Mutoko, Mudzi and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe districts.
Thomas Merkelbach, head of the Harare regional ICRC delegation,
said: "In order to make sure that people use the seed for
cultivation, and to ensure that farmers have enough food until the
next harvest, we have given them maize, oil and salt."
The programme has been timed to coincide with the Zimbabwean
farming season at the end of this month and is expected to
encourage 16,000 hectares of crops to grow.
According to its website, the ICRC set up its Harare delegation
in 1995 and ran a series of health care projects in rural areas
across the country in 2006.
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