Zim sees lower food output

Zimbabwe's food output this season could fall short of expectations due to lack of fertiliser and heavy rains, and imports may be needed to meet domestic needs, a report showed on Tuesday.

Since 2001 the southern African nation has grappled with food shortages, which critics partly blame on President Robert Mugabe's seizure of white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks.

They in turn lack adequate seed, fertiliser and fuel.

A crop assessment report by the agriculture ministry and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, said farmers had only received up to 10 per cent of required fertiliser during the current 2007/8 summer farming season.

Producers had also failed to meet the targeted cropping area of two million hectares for the staple maize grain mainly due to shortages of fuel, which along with electricity, foreign currency and water shortages mark a devastating economic crisis gripping the country.

"The total expected production from this season may not meet the expected targets," said the report, compiled after a crop assessment exercise carried out from Feb 3-11.

"For this reason there is need to look into contingency plans for food imports," it said, adding that a final assessment would be conducted early next month.

Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo was unavailable for comment but he has previously said Zimbabwe would produce three million tonnes of maize this year, more than the country's needs.