HARARE, July 23 -- Zimbabwe has significantly ramped up maize imports in the past four months to address a severe drought exacerbated by El Nino, which slashed cereal harvests by 77 percent, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday.

Between April and July this year, the private sector has imported nearly 400,000 metric tonnes of maize, while the government has imported 14,000 metric tonnes of maize, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development Minister Anxious Masuka said during a post-cabinet media briefing.

The minister said the Zimbabwean government has issued 651 import permits to private companies for 3.2 million metric tonnes of maize, expected to be sourced mainly from neighboring South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique.

He added that the government plans to import 300,000 metric tonnes of maize to support food-insecure population until March next year.

According to the government, the drought has left 60 percent of the country's population food insecure, necessitating urgent food aid interventions.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of disaster over the drought in April, and the government has appealed for 3.3 billion U.S. dollars to respond to the drought crisis.

  - Xinhua