21 March 2011
Zimbabwe and China signed millions of euros worth of deals Monday, some in the agriculture sector, as the country’s agriculture minister ordered grain to be sent to provinces that face severe food shortages.
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told the state daily The Herald that he ordered the country’s grain marketing board to send grain to six of Zimbabwe’s ten provinces that face severe food shortages.
A crop assessment carried out in January found that the country had planted more maize than last year, and was expecting to harvest 1.7 million tonnes. But that was still short of the estimated 2.2 million tonnes needed.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe and China signed 413 million euros’ worth of agreements, including an agricultural machinery scheme, medicine and the rehabilitation of sewers in the capital.
Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, who was in Zimbabwe on an official visit to sign the deals, promised to support Zimbabwe’s economy, and said he would lobby for the lifting of Western sanctions on President Robert Mugabe.
Read or Listen to this story on the RFI website
AllAfrica – All the Time
Read the original:
Zimbabwe: Govt Warns of Food Shortages As China Deals Signed