Good rainfall meant 2009 production of the staple crop, maize, is estimated to have more than doubled, to 1.14 million tonnes, after the record low harvest of 2008, a report by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organisation said.

Liberalisation of the economy this year, and the grain market in particular, has filled the shops with products and reduced prices, the FAO said. However, for most households without access to foreign currency, basic necessities remain out of reach.

"This year's improved harvest comes after two consecutive years of poor production," said WFP's Jan Delbaere, a co-leader of a U.N. mission to Zimbabwe in early May that produced the report.

"Having depleted their food stocks and sold livestock and other assets to cope with the effects of recent crises, many rural households are still struggling to survive."
The report acknowledged the importance of government reforms but said the situation remained critical.

"Liberalisation of the grain market is the most important change in a decade for the improvement of the agriculture sector in Zimbabwe," said FAO economist Kisan Gunjal.

"But the full impact of the reform on production next season remains to be seen, especially in light of financial liquidity constraints and other problems of economic transition."