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Community Assessment of the Food Situation in Zimbabwe - September 2003
National NGO Food Security Network (FOSENET)
October 31, 2003

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This report outlines information drawn from 148 monitoring reports from 53 districts from all provinces of Zimbabwe for September 2003.

Three quarters of districts report a worsening food supply situation as staple food supplies are falling. Fosenet monitoring since 2002 shows that the period September to January are periods of peak and rising food insecurity.

In or out migration is reported in 41% of districts. People are pulled to urban areas by jobs and family support, and pushed from urban areas by job loss, the cost of living and food shortages. People are pulled to rural areas by a search for food and opportunities for gold panning, and pushed from rural areas by displacement, unsuccessful resettlement and unemployment.

Communities continue to report that seed and fertilizer is widely unavailable across all provinces, with seed was available commercially in 13% of districts and fertilizer in 25%.

Inadequate supplies of seed and fertilizer have pushed seed prices up by 42% in the past month, to reported levels of up to $50 000/10kg. Prices of seed and fertilizer have risen rapidly since April 2003, doubling on average every month in the period.

Shortages of seed and fertilizer compounded by massive price increases make access to farm inputs a critical constraint to future food security. While draught power is a constraint it does not match the severity of shortfall in inputs. This has been raised in previous Fosenet reports but the situation has not improved. Communities themselves repeatedly warn that food shortages will persist well into 2004 and beyond, even with adequate rains, unless an input support scheme is urgently introduced.

The rising cost of farm inputs also presents a significant threat to both poverty and food security in poor and HIV/AIDS affected rural households. With the increased poverty induced by food insecurity in 2002 and 2003, current input costs threaten to drive such households out of production completely.

Ten percent of districts reported a positive change in GMB deliveries in September, attributing this to food being made available during the build up to the urban council elections in late August. They also reported a fall off in deliveries after the elections. However, monitoring sites in thirty three districts (62%) reported no GMB deliveries in the period at all.

GMB grain prices did not rise significantly in September and fell in some areas. The sources of bias in access to GMB food reported in previous Fosenet rounds were also reported in this round.

The GMB is reported to have introduced a new pricing system, with different prices for different areas and individuals for the same grain commodity. Differential pricing is one option for ensuring access to grain by poor communities. It demands high levels of transparency to ensure that the subsidy reaches the correct target. Communities reported that they were worried that the differential pricing system could be abused for profit or political gain unless properly managed.

Commercial food availability is reported to be better this year than the same time last year, using maize meal and oil as indicator foods. Cost is now the major constraint in accessing commercial market foods, with prices about ten times higher in September 2003 than in September 2002.

The monitoring reports indicate that relief activities face three issues:

• Absolute shortfalls in GMB supplies and problems in access to GMB supplies leaving communities dependent on more expensive market supplies
• Inability of poor households to afford market supplies and households engaging in harmful activities to raise funds, such as commercial sex and child begging
• Absolute shortfalls and high costs of seed and fertilizer prolonging food insecurity

Relief activities were reported to have increased in the month, with 49% of districts noting some relief food distribution compared to 21% in August 2003. Reports of political interference and unfair distribution of relief were made in seven districts.

The cash for work programme was reported to have expanded in September, reported in 60% of districts compared to 22 % in August. Reported problems to be addressed included work done in the cash for work programme but no cash paid; councilors deducting independence day celebration contributions for April and council levies from cash for work earnings and inability of the ill, aged, childheaded households to access the cash for work support.

Community responses to the current situation are mainly focused on preparing for production and purchasing food.

• Households have made efforts to prepare land and access farm inputs from market sources. Communities were reported to have initiated programmes or approached local authorities to discuss expanding irrigation.
• Many districts report increased sale of household asset - including furniture, livestock (in four districts) and household goods - to raise money for food and farm inputs.
• Both urban and rural districts report children seeking money or food as street children, and some increase in crime and prostitution for money or food. The pressure for cash for inputs and food carries a risk of children being involved extremely harmful activities like child labour, begging and commercial sex.

Districts reported meetings with councilors and local leaders to access scarce foods or to secure inputs. They also reported concerns where councilors and local leaders did not respond to their approaches, or were part of the problem of unfair distribution and biased access, especially of GMB grain. Ensuring accountable local government and supporting positive community - local authority interactions would appear to be necessary to deal with both the short term issues of fairness in food distribution and the longer term recovery processes.

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