Abel Ndlovu, a subsistence farmer in the heart of Zimbabwe's Lupane District, is one of the lucky ones. He harvested 2 tonnes of maize this last season, and his homestead has become something of a beacon of hope for the hungry from miles around.

One man in his 60s trudged more than two days to reach Ndlovu's farm with two heifers he planned to exchange for bags of grain. Another woman brought three free-range chickens to trade.

Their stories of hunger are revealing.

"You should see what we eat in our homes," said Ethel Sibanda, 55. "I haven't eaten isitshwala (a thick porridge made from maize meal) for a long time now. My family and I have relied on wild fruit and kernels of the amarula tree. We last received maize in my area in November."

As Zimbabwe waits anxiously for the delayed results of its presidential election, the country's worst humanitarian crisis since independence is deepening.

Some 83 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. Hunger is endemic. More than 4 million vulnerable people in rural areas hit by grain shortages have been receiving food aid through the U.N. World Food Programme. Aid operations have been scaled up ahead of the "hunger season" during the first quarter of 2008.

Food shortages have also hit critical levels in urban areas where supplies of basic commodities are insufficient or erratic and humanitarian assistance limited, according to the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network.

Many factors are to blame for the hunger crisis. Zimbabwe has arguably the world's highest inflation rate at more than 100,000 percent. This has pushed food prices beyond the reach of many as the government struggles to boost grain imports to head off mass starvation - a task made harder by limited foreign currency.

From Haiti to Bangladesh, soaring food and fuel prices on global markets have triggered backlashes as more people go hungry. In Zimbabwe, emotions are also running high.

In the heart of Matabeleland North province, an area with one of the country's worst food shortages, many villagers are still reeling from a devastating drought in 2006/07.

Some blame the government for delaying grain deliveries through Grain Marketing Board depots. Others voice concern over the tremendous distances they have to travel on bad roads to receive food aid, mostly from international relief organisations.

Very few villagers have been able to harvest more than five bags of maize, Zimbabwe's staple crop. But in some areas there is a fine crop of sorghum and finger millet, drought-tolerant grains that are considered inferior to maize although they are highly nutritious and make a difference during drought years such as 2007.

In the run-up to Zimbabwe's watershed elections late last month, relief agencies cut back on their programmes. They are still awaiting clarity on the country's political future before resuming operations.

"We are concerned about the impact of the current political situation on the humanitarian aid programmes in the country," said Fambai Ngirande, spokesman for the National Association of Non-governmental Organisations (NANGO).

"A number of our members have not been able to resume full-scale operations since suspending them in the run-up to the elections for fear of the politicisation of food aid, but now the impasse over the presidential elections results has not helped a desperate humanitarian situation."

Ngirande said some members of his association were carrying out targeted feeding of vulnerable groups such as under-fives, widows and people living with HIV/AIDS. Zimbabwe - once celebrated as Africa's bread basket - has become a food deficit state.

Church World Service (CWS), a U.S.-based humanitarian group, is continuing efforts to alleviate food shortages in Zimbabwe. Late last year, CWS issued a two-pronged appeal to assist its Christian partners in Zimbabwe, aiming to make food immediately available to vulnerable households and help them develop sustainable farming.

"The emergency component of the programme has been implemented over a period of five months, ending this month, while the recovery component is being implemented over a period of 12 months ending in November 2008," said CWS communication officer Chris Herlinger.

"The focus continues to be on the southern Zimbabwe districts of Chivi, Mwenezi, Zvishavane, Mberengwa, Gwanda, and Beitbridge, rural areas affected by drought and populated by subsistence farmers.

"General economic decline, inadequacy of rainfall, and infertile soils in the districts has resulted in poor crop harvests, which affect the food security situation in the areas."

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