In late November, the UN reported that Zimbabwe was “on the brink of man-made starvation.” Some 5.5 million people in the country currently do not have enough to eat.

There is no doubt that there is currently a shocking food security crisis in Zimbabwe, but this is not something that has suddenly occurred “out of the blue.” It has deep historical, political, economic and ecological roots. A recent report from Hilal Elver, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, explores the reasons for the crisis but some of the conclusions are ambiguous.

The UN report implies that the lack of commercial maize production and land redistribution are the major causes of the current food insecurity crisis. This assertion is politically loaded and is already being used on social media by vested interest groups to argue that land reform should be reversed. The report also fails to mention the efforts by Zimbabwe’s Food and Nutrition Council, the Ministry of Health and Child Care and civil society in supporting rural communities and reducing chronic malnutrition in the country during the past couple of decades. Below are some of the key factors leading to the current emergency.