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2005/6 Agricultural Season Food Security Research Report
National NGO Food Security Network (FOSENET)
September 15, 2006

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Executive Summary
One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is to reduce the number of food insecure households by half by 2015.Since 2002. Zimbabwe has been experiencing food shortages due to a number of factors such as drought and severe economic decline and shortages of agricultural inputs. Unfortunately food security information in the country has been highly politicised such that there is little information, making it difficult for better-informed interventions.

Recognizing the importance of such information for purposes of improving household food security situation in Zimbabwe, The FOOD SECURITY NETWORK (FOSENET) initiated a research aimed at providing reliable information on the current food security situation in Zimbabwe. This research was a systematic investigation on the food security status and trends in selected districts of the country where FOSENET implementing NGO partners are operational. The research meant to contribute to the development of a common understanding of the food security situation in the country and develop appropriate intervention strategies and approaches for enhanced impact of food security interventions on the livelihoods of rural communities. The study also sought to identify information gaps and other loopholes on food and nutrition security and build consensus amongst strategic stakeholders, through a consultative process, on what needs to be done to minimize food insecurity.

The study was conducted in two phases, viz, the desk study and fieldwork in order to generate data to feed into the design of food security programming and interventions in rural and urban districts of Zimbabwe.The desk study sought to assess the food security status and trends in Zimbabwe through a close examination of secondary and primary data from stakeholder organisations while the field study administered a household questionnaire schedule and an in-depth interview guide in six selected districts which included Zhombe, Makoni, Umzingwane, Lupane, Chikomba and Chivi. A total sample of 360 households and 20 Key Informants were interviewed in the field study.

The desk study report and field study findings were presented as draft reports in two experts’ advisory group meetings held in Harare, Zimbabwe in June and August 2006 respectively, and the final report has been revised according to the recommendations of this group.

The report examines among other things, rainfall amounts and distribution patterns compared to normal per given agro ecological zone, the availability and accessibility of food in both the household and on the markets, effectiveness of the entire inputs supply/sourcing and distribution chain, linkages between HIV and AIDS on household food security, impacts of relief food aid on households, and also coping strategies used by food insecure households /communities.

The study suggests that the overall food security situation in the current consumption year (2006/2007) is better than in the previous consumption year (2005/ 2006) due to improved rainfall amounts which characterized the whole country, with an average of more than 100% of the needed rainfall in most parts of the country. The proportion of food insecure households has dropped from 36% in the previous consumption year to18% in the current consumption year. This finding suggests that 18% of the total surveyed population will not be able to meet their food needs in the 2006/2007-consumption year.

Food aid also continues to play a very important role in ensuring food availability in households, and this report also suggests food aid is even leading to savings rather than the usual emergency purposes, as results show households receiving food aid being more likely to be food secure in the following season as they will be able to save.

The improvement in the food security situation has also been attributed to NGO agricultural input distribution in the surveyed districts, and results show that most seed and fertilizers were distributed on time such that many people were able to plant their seed on time.

However, the report also points out that in as much as the situation has improved in the country this season, there is still need for food security interventions to cover the proportion of food insecure households and the Government, private and NGO sectors should join hands to help these people. Close to 76% of the food insecure households attributed their problem of food insecurity to unavailability of agricultural inputs (seed and fertilizer) on the market and shortage of draught power.

The report also points out to a strong relationship between HIV and AIDS and food insecurity. About 71% of the HIV and AIDS affected households respondents were food insecure, and at the same time most HIV and AIDS death cases were also prevalent in food insecure households. This points out to the bi directional relationship between poverty and HIV and AIDS where HIV/AIDS is a determining factor of food insecurity as well as a consequence of food and nutrition insecurity. Most of the households interviewed who had a chronically ill person as head of the households had no draught power, could not produce enough food due to spending more time with the sick person, and also reported that they spent more money on healthcare .As a result of this, most of these households could not be able to meet their food needs, hence were food insecure. HIV and AIDS adversely affects the poor households by depleting them of the labor force required in agricultural activities thus leading to poor yields which puts them in a vicious circle of poverty and hunger. Due to this strong correlation between HIV and AIDS and food security, this report suggests the need for HIV and AIDS mainstreaming in food security interventions so as to improve food security in these affected households. It is also important to conduct a comprehensive impact assessment using indicators sensitive to both HIV and AIDS and food security so as to provide adequate information on the impacts of the epidemic on household food security. This will help stakeholders to develop integrated response strategies that combine short- and long-term interventions in new ways (parallel rather than sequential- food security interventions with an "HIV lens").

The report also points out to a new group of food insecure people –the urban households. Although a smaller sample was included in the survey on the urban households, there is evidence on food insecurity amongst the urban people, and this report suggests further research and also food security interventions in urban areas. Historically, most food security stakeholders (government and NGO sectors) targeted the rural people since most poor people lived in rural areas.

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