HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's upcoming wheat harvest is likely to be the worst since the country gained independence in 1980, state media reported Sunday, another sign of the economic crisis triggered in the former regional breadbasket by a land redistribution program.
An electricity shortage prevented farmers from irrigating the crop, the official Sunday Mail said. Production was expected to fall below the 86,000 tons harvested last year and well short of the 375,000-ton target set by the government of longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe.
"In some areas farmers could go for four consecutive days without electricity. It became impossible to irrigate and complete the required cycles, resulting in the crop wilting," President of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Commercial Farmers' Union, Wilson Nyabonda, told the newspaper.
Corn, rather than wheat, is the staple diet of most Zimbabweans, so a weak wheat crop is unlikely to cause mass starvation. Nonetheless, it means already scarce bread will be harder to find and adds to Zimbabwe's woes since seizures of white-owned commercial farms began in 2000.
The International Monetary Fund has warned Zimbabwean authorities that inflation could top 100,000 percent by the end of the year, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said last week. Officially, inflation in Zimbabwe is 4,500 percent - the highest in the world - but economists say it's at least twice that.
Acute shortages have affected numerous sectors, including electricity, which in turn has affected the farming of wheat. Zimbabwe imports up to 40 percent of its power from neighboring nations, largely because coal shortages have shut down power-generating facilities.
The harvest usually takes place around August or September.
In many areas, mechanized farming has been replaced by cattle-drawn plowing since the often violent seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms began, disrupting the agriculture-based economy.
The World Food Program last week appealed for $118 million to help more than 3.3 million Zimbabweans - more than one quarter of the population - facing severe food shortages.
In rare welcome news, the Sunday Mail said the government had repealed proposed legislation to limit the amount of products including cooking oil and beef that Zimbabweans could import.
This would have cut an increasingly important lifeline to desperate Zimbabweans who flock to the borders each day to shop in neighboring countries.
Although South Africa bears the brunt of the influx, Zambian officials said Sunday that the number of Zimbabweans crossing the border to buy basics such as milk and bread had increased from 60 per day to 1,000.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
An electricity shortage prevented farmers from irrigating the crop, the official Sunday Mail said. Production was expected to fall below the 86,000 tons harvested last year and well short of the 375,000-ton target set by the government of longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe.
"In some areas farmers could go for four consecutive days without electricity. It became impossible to irrigate and complete the required cycles, resulting in the crop wilting," President of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Commercial Farmers' Union, Wilson Nyabonda, told the newspaper.
Corn, rather than wheat, is the staple diet of most Zimbabweans, so a weak wheat crop is unlikely to cause mass starvation. Nonetheless, it means already scarce bread will be harder to find and adds to Zimbabwe's woes since seizures of white-owned commercial farms began in 2000.
The International Monetary Fund has warned Zimbabwean authorities that inflation could top 100,000 percent by the end of the year, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said last week. Officially, inflation in Zimbabwe is 4,500 percent - the highest in the world - but economists say it's at least twice that.
Acute shortages have affected numerous sectors, including electricity, which in turn has affected the farming of wheat. Zimbabwe imports up to 40 percent of its power from neighboring nations, largely because coal shortages have shut down power-generating facilities.
The harvest usually takes place around August or September.
In many areas, mechanized farming has been replaced by cattle-drawn plowing since the often violent seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms began, disrupting the agriculture-based economy.
The World Food Program last week appealed for $118 million to help more than 3.3 million Zimbabweans - more than one quarter of the population - facing severe food shortages.
In rare welcome news, the Sunday Mail said the government had repealed proposed legislation to limit the amount of products including cooking oil and beef that Zimbabweans could import.
This would have cut an increasingly important lifeline to desperate Zimbabweans who flock to the borders each day to shop in neighboring countries.
Although South Africa bears the brunt of the influx, Zambian officials said Sunday that the number of Zimbabweans crossing the border to buy basics such as milk and bread had increased from 60 per day to 1,000.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
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