While president Robert Mugabe and government officials are preoccupied with elections, millions of Zimbabweans are facing starvation as 500 000-hectares of maize crop - the staple food - have been written off, according to a timeslive.co.za report.
Already millions of people in south-western regions are battling for survival due to food shortages, which politicians ignore as they crisscross the country preparing for elections.
The agriculture and mechanisation minister Joseph Made warned that hundreds of thousands of people were facing starvation due to drought, which has resulted in poor yields after vast swathes of the maize crop failed.
Almost a third of the maize crop is a write-off, leaving hunger stalking the land. Made said people were likely to starve to death in months ahead.
"According to the final crop assessment by the government, this past farming season 1 600 000-ha of the maize crop was planted, but, because of lack of rain, 500 000-ha is a write-off. The planted crops suffered moisture stress because of the prolonged dry spell," Made said.
"We face hunger as a result and urgent measures are needed to avert deaths due to starvation. The rains really let us down."
The failure of the 500 000-ha of maize crop leaves Zimbabwe with only 1 100 000-ha of the planted crop, which would result in a serious shortfall as the national requirement for maize is two million tonnes. As a result, Zimbabwe needs to import maize.
However, with the government broke and neighbouring countries, which usually come to the rescue, having limited supplies, the situation could get worse.
