Hundreds of families in Zaka’s Masvingo province are surviving on wild fruits at a time President Robert Mugabe is blowing millions of dollars on foreign travels.
President Mugabe as of march this year had blown $15 million on foreign travel.
The trips included his last December retreat to the Far East for the festive season.
According to the state  media hunger in Masvingo has reached alarming levels with hundreds families are resorting to wild fruits as they cannot afford even a single meal a day.
The most affected are those who live in the Gumbo and Rudanda areas.
Most families say the little grain they harvested in the 2014/2015 farming season was finished by June.
Wild fruits mostly Mashuku and seasonal fruits such as mangoes have become their means of survival during the day as they save the little grain to ensure at least one hot meal a day.
But that too is fast running out and the villagers are now desperate.
Some of the villagers rely on selling the wild fruits on the highway to raise money to buy grain.
According to some of the villagers, some children have since stopped going to school due to hunger.
While hopes had been pinned on the newly planted crop, the long dry spell is threatening to wipe out any life.
Livestock in the area is also in a poor state due to water shortages.