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to access food relief under the Government’s grain loan scheme.
Cattle prices in areas such as Sarahuru, Maranda and Dinhe have drastically gone down, with dealers reportedly cashing in on the desperate villagers.
A survey by The Herald in some parts of Mwenezi showed that the price of a beast had fallen to about US$200.
Mr Aaron Chitanga of Neshuro said villagers in Mwenezi were turning to barter trade because of hunger.
He implored Government to urgently move food relief to the area to stave off loomingstarvation.
“Our main challenge here is hunger,” said Mr Chitanga. “Can you imagine a beast going for as low as US$200? We have no choice because we do not have the money to buy maize and the commodity is also very scarce.”
Another villager Mr Liberty Matavire from Sarahuru said: “There are scores of unscrupulous traders who are making a killing by exchanging their maize for cattle.
Mwenezi East legislator Cde Kudakwashe Bhasikiti called for urgent action to avert starvation.
“The food situation in Mwenezi is very dire,” he said. “Villagers have no food and some of them who live in remote areas are hardly able to access assistance under the grain loan scheme due to the fact that some areas are inaccessible by road.
“It is unfortunate that some villagersare turning to barter trade, exchanging their livestock for maize grain.”
Cde Bhasikiti urged Government to urgently move cheap grain to the area.
More than 60 000 villagers in Mwenezi are in need of food relief after their crops were affected by drought.