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Mnangagwa's statement follows similar announcements by Zambia in
late February and Malawi in March, as drought induced by the El
Nino global weather pattern triggers a humanitarian crisis in
southern Africa.
More than 2.7 million people in Zimbabwe will go hungry this
year, Mnangagwa told journalists at the state house in Harare,
adding that 80% of the country had received poor rains.
"Preliminary assessments show that Zimbabwe requires in excess
of $2 billion towards various interventions we envisage in our
national response," Mnangagwa said.
He said the government would prioritise winter cropping to boost
reserves, and work with the private sector to import grains.
El Nino is a naturally occurring weather phenomenon associated
with a disruption of wind patterns that means warmer ocean
surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific.
Most provinces in Zimbabwe have experienced crop failure since
November, with hotter areas declaring grains such as maize a
write-off.
Humanitarian agencies including the World Food Programme, which
fed 270,000 people between January and March in four districts,
have described the hunger situation as "dire", calling on donors
to provide more aid.
The drought in southern Africa has reached crisis levels with
Botswana and Angola to the west, and Mozambique and Madagascar
to the east also facing hunger.
(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono, Editing by Bhargav Acharya and
Barbara Lewis)
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