Hunger looms in Zambia as freak hailstorm destroys cassava crops

People in a north-western province of Zambia are at risk of extreme hunger following a violent hailstorm in Mwinilunga District which has destroyed much of the staple cassava crop.

Tyson is one of the children affected by the storm which struck the area where he lives.

‘Our field looks like it’s been ravaged by fire’, he says, ‘The cassava stems and leaves have dried and soon the cassava itself will start to rot and we’ll be left with nothing to eat’.

‘The cassava stems and leaves have dried and soon the cassava itself will start to rot and we’ll be left with nothing to eat.'

His father, Teddy, says, ‘The damaged cassava stems can’t be used to replant our fields and we need help with other plants so we will have something to harvest by the time the rainy season comes to an end.’

He explains the problem - cassava can’t be harvested all at once like maize, as the tubers rot after a couple of days. ‘We can only harvest what we can eat in a short space of time. The rest is left for later,' he says.

‘But even that will go to waste because the ice left behind in the wake of the storm has destroyed the cassava stems and is causing them to rot.’

The recent hailstorm prompted World Vision to declare an emergency response to help more than 10,000 families affected by it in Mwinilunga Area Development Programme. Funds will be released for the provision of cassava cuttings and other early maturing crops.

The recent hailstorm prompted World Vision to declare an emergency response to help more than 10,000 families

James Simuyemba, the World Vision Zambia Development Facilitator for agriculture, says almost all the cassava has been adversely affected by the storm.

‘We want to provide some early maturing cassava to avert a food insecurity situation,’ he says. ‘We want to give out beans, groundnuts and maize and we want to work with the government on this response.’

The other important message to get across, explains Mr Simuyemba, is the issue of crop diversification and animal rearing.

‘Promoting crop diversification will help communities become more resilient when future calamities strike,’ he says, ‘and we also want to encourage animal rearing and gardening, as these are all activities which will help to avert hunger in the future’.

Mr Simuyemba added:

‘Thank God that other physical structures were not destroyed in the storm and that the impact is only on agriculture. But this may well impact later on the children, especially if they begin to suffer from hunger and their health and education is affected.’