Japan funds $1.5m for Zimbabwe’s food security

The Japanese Government has offered up $1.5m to the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations to improve the livelihood and ensure food security of communities in Zimbabwe.

The fund is aimed at making the people of Zvishavane and Mwenezi self-sufficient.

The move came after Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

WFP country director Sory Ouane was quoted by Relief Web as saying: "Japan’s contribution comes at a critical time. Not only will it help us meet people’s immediate needs, but it will enable us to provide vulnerable people with the means to work their way out of food insecurity and build a future free from hunger."

The programme, called ‘Productive Asset Creation’, will start in May and will involve providing community members with either food or cash while they work on irrigation or water harvesting schemes, giving them access to an income, along with resources to better withstand shocks as a s result of climate change.

The programme is scheduled to start in May 2015.

Japanese ambassador to Zimbabwe Yoshinobu Hiraishi was quoted by Relief Web as saying: "We hope it will go a long way in helping tobridge current food gaps, as well as strengthening people’s resilience against future food shocks."

Japan has been one of the biggest donors to Zimbabwe. Since 2010, the country has contributed more than $43m of humanitarian and development assistance through WFP and other agencies.