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Community Assessment of the Food Situation in Zimbabwe June/July 2002: FULL REPORT
National NGO Food Security Network (FOSENET)
October 12, 2002

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Food access

While food availability is limited, with some considerable variation in different parts of the country, food access is even further limited. There were a range of barriers reported across different food sources:

Formal / Informal markets

Cost was identified as the major barrier to access food from markets, primarily affected poor and vulnerable groups.

Maize is reported to be sold openly across the counter and from informal vending points, including people’s homes. The greatest barrier to access to this food was noted to be the cost. Vulnerable groups (elderly, children, orphans and the poor) are not able to afford such food. What is less clear is the source of the food sold in informal markets. Previous FOSENET reports have found speculation in control price foods. Reports from 10% of districts in this round indicated possible leakages of GMB foods into informal markets.

GMB sales
Accessing GMB foods was reported to be done through the councilor (40% of reports), or through the ruling party (15% of reports) in the latter case with proof of a national ID card and a party card. Food was also reported to be accessed directly from the GMB (13% reports) (in some cases with the requirement of showing a national ID card) and in 6% of cases to require some sort of advance payment.

The current system of access to GMB foods is reported to marginalise the elderly, ill, disabled and orphans and those perceived as opposition supporters.

The reports indicated a range of groups to be marginalised:

• The elderly, ill, disabled and orphans are noted to be unable to raise sufficient funds to buy the food or to be able to stand in queues for a long time and so do not access
• People not cleared by the ruling party or opposition supporters are reported to face political blocks to accessing the food
• Orphans, elderly and young people are not able to produce National Ids to access the food
• Those living at some distance from the depots are unable to afford the transport to get to the depots or to spend enough time at the depots to get maize from the queues
• Workers (such as civil servants) are not able to get the time to stand in queues to access the food.
• Farmworkers are told to get food from their employers, but this is not always possible due to shutdowns.

Cost, political and transport barriers continue to be reported as impeding GMB food access.

Relief food
To access relief food people were reported to be required to

• Register children through schools or clinics or elderly through old people’s homes (18% reports)
• Register with the councilor or village head (10% reports)
• Register directly with the relief agency (5% reports)
• Produce birth and death certificates (2% reports)

Groups reported to be facing difficulty with relief procedures or in accessing relief foods were reported to be out of school children, people with illnesses and disability and orphan headed households:

The reports noted specific problems for each group:

• Children who have dropped out of school face problems as not enough provision has been made for out of school feeding points (10%)
• People with illnesses or disability face barriers in mobility to reach feeding points (6% reports)
• Orphan headed households are marginalised from institutions and lack formal documents (3%)

The cash for work programme was somewhat different. Access was almost universally reported to be through the councilor. In 10% of cases ruling party approval was also reported as required. It was noted in 8% of reports that only one person per household could register, while in the rest no limit was specified. The target group was reported to be variable across districts: household heads in some, the elderly, widows, anyone able to work, unemployed mothers and those without cattle.

It would appear that the procedures for targeting cash for work are not standardised and the decision making latitude given to the councilor is wide.

Groups not accessing the cash for work scheme are reported to be

• Groups vulnerable to food insecurity - the elderly, orphans, disabled and ill (31% of reports)
• Those not approved by the ruling party and opposition party supporters (15% of reports)
• Former farmworkers (3% of reports).

The issues and problems raised in this report all need further monitoring and follow up. Follow up investigation and review is needed to follow up on certain trends or relationships and to get a better understanding of the process or causes that are underlying barriers to supply and access reported.

There are however some strong and worrying trends that need attention:

• The groups identified as most vulnerable in terms of food needs are also those that appear to have least access to all sources of food, including relief food.
• Household food stocks are generally at less than one months supply, GMB deliveries are inadequate, food in formal markets almost absent and in informal markets unaffordable.
• The provinces that seem to have lowest household food stocks also appear to have least access to controlled price food deliveries from the state and face the largest markups on private markets, further undermining their food security.
• Speculation on food, largely through informal markets, is not being controlled and may be partly feeding from leakages from distorted access to controlled price food. Formal market food sales have dwindled substantially.
• The poorest have least resources to shift between (dwindling) alternative food sources and even GMB sales have become unaffordable to some.
• Political bias continues to be reported in food access.

Not explored in this report but a focus of the next round will be security of food production and access to seed and fertiliser.

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