CMP Prod Oct2012.pdf - Training and Research Support Centre

Community Monitoring
Programme
Quarterly Community Assessment of the
Socio-economic Situation in Zimbabwe:
Production and Food Security
Sept-Oct 2012
An explanation of the Community Monitoring
This report is one of a series of quarterly monitoring of social and economic
conditions at community level. This community based monitoring on
Production and Food Security was carried out in September-October 2012.
The report is compiled from 238 monitoring reports from 58 districts from all
the ten provinces of Zimbabwe, with an average of 4.1 reports per district.
Community monitoring of social and economic conditions has been carried out
every three months since 2003. The quarterly rounds cover: Health and
Education, Income and Employment, Production and assets. All rounds also
cover food security monitoring. Monitors based in sentinel wards from civil
society organizations report on specific areas of social and economic
conditions at community level. Information on a district is compiled from three
to four sentinel sites. These reports are thus not statistical sample surveys, but
regular community assessments of the social and economic conditions in
sentinel sites. They provide information on how things are changing across
time or how things differ across areas.
The Community Monitoring is implemented through civil society organisations
based within districts and community based monitors to inform the work of the
organisations implementing it, to support informed civil society and public
sector dialogue with evidence on conditions at community level.
This round is the eighth time quarterly monitoring has been done of production
and food security, with previous rounds having been done annually from 2004
to 2011. Where feasible, comparisons with previous rounds have been made.
Continuous measures including training and peer review are being
implemented to improve the quality and relevance of the reports. Proposals for
issues to monitor and feedback on the report are welcomed and can be sent to
communitymonitor@googlemail.com

Production and Food Security
September-October 2011
Summary of Findings
Returns from Production
Small scale farming and informal vending continue to be the main production
activities. Formal and informal manufacturing, formal retail and large scale farming
remained at lower levels. Informal vending has risen sharply since 2007, with sale of
clothes, building materials, electrical gadgets, food items - including alcohol - and
agricultural commodities.
Women are reported to be more involved in informal vending and men more involved in
the other production activities, particularly those associated with more secure incomes.
For small scale agriculture, the majority of households were reported to have limited
access to land, with a small improvement in access in 2012, and with greater access to
land in men than in women.
Fertilizer and maize seed are reported to be available in more than two thirds of sites,
with rising prices for fertilizer and lower prices reported for maize seed in 2012
compared with 2011.
The availability of groundnut and sorghum seed in sites is reported to be relatively low,
having fallen after 2009 and costs for these seed to be higher than for maize seed,
possibly inhibiting use of sorghum despite its resilience in low rainfall areas.
Across provinces, access to tillage and credit was lower in Masvingo and Matabeleland
North, and to irrigation lower in Manicaland and Matabeleland South, and men were
reported to have better access to inputs than women. Community monitors reported that
when prices for crops such as maize are low, and input costs high, they struggle to make
adequate income to meet needs such as health and education fees.
Household food security
Communities are reported to be almost entirely relying on commercial sources of food,
with only eight percent of the sites reporting consumption of own produce. The big fall in
own produce as a source since 2009 may reflect a shift away from food production
towards other cash crops, but it also appears that returns from sales of other crops may
not match costs of commercial foods for many households as sale of assets to purchase
food was reported to be happening in almost all (94%) sites.
Food is generally widely available, with a small increase in prices.
Nevertheless the share of sites where households were reported to have no food stocks
remained relatively high (over 60%) and has been deteriorating since 2009.
If the returns from the other production activities are not adequately supporting food
security, as it appears from the evidence, then more focus needs to be given to
incentives for food production, such as in making inputs more affordable for food
producers, especially women producers.
Environments for health
Nearly a third (30%) of sites report less than a quarter of the households in their site
having access to safe water.
There has also been a small reported improvement in access to safe sanitation during
2012, although still with 20% of sites reporting less than a quarter of sites having access
to safe sanitation.
1

Returns from Production
Successful production is an important contributor to improved household wealth, incomes,
and food security. How are households recovering after the prolonged period of economic
decline in Zimbabwe in the 2000s? Are they accessing the resources needed for production?
This round of monitoring has tracked performance on indicators of production and food
security to help in answering these questions.
What production activities are households engaged in? The community monitoring reports
indicate that small scale farming and informal vending continue to be the main production
activities. Formal and informal manufacturing, formal retail and large scale farming
remained at lower levels, with unchanged frequency of reporting since 2011 (See Figure
1). Informal vending has risen sharply since 2007, and although fewer sites reported it as
the main activity in 2011, it rose again in frequency in 2012. Community monitors
reported that vending in informal markets includes sale of clothes, building materials,
electrical gadgets, food items including alcohol and agricultural commodities.
Women are reported to be more involved in informal vending and men more involved in the
other production activities, particularly those associated with more secure incomes (formal
manufacture, formal marketing and large scale farming). Men have become more involved
in small scale farming since 2011 (Table 1).
Table 1: Percent of sites reporting production activity by gender M=Men, F=Women
Small scale
farming
Large scale
farming
Formal
manufacturing
Informal
manufacturing
Formal
marketing
Informal
vending
Province
M F M F M F M F M F M F
Sept 2012 68 66 24 12 23 10 32 12 16 12 55 63
Sept 2011 60 54 27 7 21 13 30 12 17 9 43 56
Sept 2010 67 70 13 6 17 7 40 12 14 13 60 74
Sept 2009 50 58 17 7 25 14 50 42 43 30 47 64
Total Sept 2012 67 18 16 22 14 59
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Securing meaningful income from small scale farming and informal vending depends on
improved access to production inputs, improved outputs from production and returns from
the market. How well are households faring in these areas?
For small scale
agriculture, the
monitoring reports show
that while the majority of
households had limited
access to land, there
was a small
improvement in access
in 2012. This was
particularly the case for
men, whose access to
land is greater than for
women (See Figure 2)
Lower access to land is
reported in Masvingo
and Matabeleland North
(Table 2)
Table 2: Reported access to adequate land, M= Male, F = Female
% sites reporting share of households having access to land
None Few Many All
Province
F M F M F M F M
Bulawayo 21 17 28 31 3 7 0 0
Harare 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0
Manicaland 0 0 35 4 65 96 0 0
Mashonaland Central 0 0 33 0 57 90 0 0
Mashonaland East 0 10 24 10 76 81 0 0
Mashonaland West 0 0 30 13 70 87 0 0
Masvingo 14 7 79 14 7 79 0 0
Matabeleland North 13 6 75 13 13 81 0 0
Matabeleland South 0 0 33 11 67 89 0 0
Midlands 0 0 23 19 77 81 0 0
Sub Total Sept 2012 5 4 34 12 41 64 0 0
Sub Total Sept 2011 8 11 49 31 35 37 0 3
Sub Total Sept 2010 21 15 45 27 12 31 0 3
Sub Total Sept 2009 18 14 57 39 6 23 0 4
Total Sept 2012 5 23 53 0
Total Sept 2011 10 40 36 1
Total Sept 2010 18 36 22 2
Total Sept 2009 17 48 15 2
“Not rural” responses make up the difference in total percentages in all provinces
“Farmers are not sure about the rains thus making them slow in preparing the land.”
Masvingo
In relation to inputs, this round of monitoring found that the price of fertilizer in 2012 was
reported to be slightly higher in 2012 than in 2011, and the price of maize seed to be
slightly lower in 2012 compared to 2011 (See Figure 3). The monitors report that a
number of new seed varieties are now being sold, particularly for maize.
3

Fertilizer and maize seed are reported
to be available in more than 69% and
73% of sites, and have remained at
levels of above 60% sites reporting
availability since September 2009
(See Table 3). However rising prices
of fertilizer may mean that poorer
farmers may not be able to afford to
buy inputs in adequate quantities,
affecting their yields (and keeping
them in poverty).
As shown in Figure 4, reported
availability of groundnut and sorghum
seed in sites is still relatively low,
having fallen after 2009. Reported
availability of draught power and credit
have stayed at relatively constant
levels (and reported to be available in
above 50% of sites. The costs for a
10kg bag of sorghum and groundnut
seed are reported by monitors to be
relatively high for farmers, with a 10kg
bag of sorghum costing $20.10 and a
10 kg bag of groundnut seed costing
$19.80. With these costs higher than
maize seed they may inhibit use of
these crops, such as of sorghum in
low rainfall areas.
‘The Government should subsidies the
cost of seed and fertilizer. People did
not harvest anything last year and
they don’t have income to buy inputs’
Monitor, Midlands
Table 3: Reported availability of fertiliser and
maize seed
% of sites reporting on
availability of
Province
Fertilizer Maize seed
Bulawayo 62 72
Harare 82 79
Manicaland 78 78
Mashonaland Central 71 67
Mashonaland East 76 86
Mashonaland West 61 74
Masvingo 71 68
Matabeleland North 63 63
Matabeleland South 56 67
Midlands 65 69
Total Sept 2012 69 73
Total Sept 2011 77 80
Total Sept 2010 65 91
Total Sept 2009 63 69
Total Nov 2008 4 4
“Not rural” responses make up the difference in total
percentages in all provinces
4

Across provinces, access to tillage and credit was lower in Masvingo and Matabeleland
North, and to irrigation lower in Manicaland and Matabeleland South, The community
reports indicated that men generally have better access to inputs than women, particularly in
relation to access to credit and tillage (Table 4). Community monitors reported that when
prices for crops such as maize are low, and input costs high, they struggle to make adequate
income to meet needs such as health and education fees.
‘The prices offered for the crops are low, people cannot get income from farming to meet
school fees and food costs”
Monitor, Mashonaland Central
Table 4: Reported access to agricultural inputs in rural provinces
% sites reporting response on share of households with access
None Few Many All
Province
Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men
Tillage/Draught Power
Total Sept 2012 17 8 58 23 5 49 0 0
Total Sept 2011 22 13 47 22 14 45 0 0
Total Sept 2010 24 21 45 10 10 41 0 2
Total Sept 2009 19 15 54 32 5 32 1 0
Credit for farming
Total Sept 2012 38 17 40 49 1 15 0 0
Total Sept 2011 37 21 39 44 6 17 1 0
Total Sept 2010 47 34 35 39 1 6 0 0
Total Sept 2009 30 21 50 54 1 6 0 1
Irrigation
Total Sept 2012 59 47 21 32 0 1 0
Total Sept 2011 50 39 30 37 5 8 0 0
Total Sept 2010 63 61 14 14 3 5 0 0
Total Sept 2009 38 33 39 42 2 3 0 1
Household food security
Communities are
reported to be almost
entirely relying on
commercial sources of
food, with only eight
percent of the sites
reporting consumption
of own produce (See
Table 5 and Figure 5).
Reliance on
commercial sources is
highest in urban
provinces (Harare and
Bulawayo) as well as
in Masvingo (Table 5)
Table 5: Reported primary source of food, Sept 2012.
% sites reporting primary source of food as
Province
Own produce Commercial GMB Relief
Bulawayo 7 93 0 0
Harare 6 94 0 0
Manicaland 9 91 0 0
Mashonaland Central 5 95 0 0
Mashonaland East 14 86 0 0
Mashonaland West 9 91 0 0
Masvingo 4 96 0 0
Matabeleland North 6 94 0 0
Matabeleland South 6 94 0 0
Midlands 15 85 0 0
Total Sept 2012 8 92 0 0
Total Sept 2011 11 87 2 0
Total Sept 2009 53 37 5 5
5

This high reliance on commercial sources of food has been reported since September 2011,
with a big fall in own produce as a source when comparing with reports in 2009 (no round on
this was done in 2010) (See Table 5). It may reflect a shift away from food production
towards other cash crops. Increased reliance in commercial sources of food can put a
financial strain on poorer households, especially if returns from production and sales of other
crops do not match costs of commercial foods. There is some indication that households
have been negatively affected by this switch to commercial supplies, with sale of assets to
purchase food reported to be happening in almost all (94%) sites.
Food is generally widely available, with a small increase in prices. The food commodities
monitored- maize meal, oil, sugar, bread and beans - were reported to be universally
available across all sites, with significant improvements in reported availability since March
2009 (see Figure 6).
The cost of a 10kg bag of maize meal and maize grain was reported to have slightly risen in
September 2012 when compared to June 2012 prices, with a 10kg bag of maize meal and
maize grain costing $6.70 and $3.90 respectively in September 2012. However, as shown in
6

Other indicator goods necessary for health that have been monitored over time are shown in
Figure 7. The costs of most of these goods were reported to have fallen slightly in
September 2012, with condoms showing a small price increase.
Food security has largely remained at low levels despite wider availability of food
commodities. As shown in Table 6 and Figure 8, the share of sites where households were
reported to have no food stocks remained at relatively high levels(over 60%). This is not
surprising given the shift from own produce to commercial foods described earlier, but does
indicate that food security in terms of own stocks has been deteriorating since 2009.
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Table 6: Reported levels of household food stocks
% sites reporting food stocks that last
More 1-3 Less None
than 4 months than 1
Province
months
month
Bulawayo 2 15 50 33
Harare 5 15 40 40
Manicaland 0 0 20 80
Mashonaland Central 5 11 17 67
Mashonaland East 0 12 18 70
Mashonaland West 0 14 24 62
Masvingo 1 2 15 82
Matabeleland North 1 2 14 83
Matabeleland South 0 7 18 75
Midlands 0 13 20 67
Total Sept 2012 3 8 24 65
Total June 2012 4 9 24 64
Total March 2012 14 16 28 63
Total Sept 2011 6 13 18 63
Total June 2011 9 15 20 56
Total March 2011 6 14 30 50
Total Sept 2010 12 12 21 55
Total June 2010 16 24 31 29
Total March 2010 14 19 24 44
Total June 2009 2 29 30 39
Total March 2009 1 3 10 86
The provinces with the
poorest reported
household food stocks
were Masvingo,
Matabeleland North and
Manicaland.
If the returns from the
other production activities
are not adequately
supporting food security,
as it appears from the
evidence, then more
focus needs to be given
to incentives for food
production, such as in
making inputs more
affordable for food
producers, especially
women producers.
Environments for health
Access to safe water
(within a distance of
500m) is reported to
have shown mixed
outcomes, with a small
rise in sites with more
than three quarters of
households having
access and a larger rise
in sites with less than a
quarter of households
having access (See
Figure 9). Access is
greater in urban than
rural sites, and nearly a
third (30%) of sites
report less than a
quarter of the
households in their site
having access to safe
water (See Figure 9)
8

There has also been a small reported improvement in access to safe sanitation during 2012,
although still with 20% of sites reporting less than a quarter of sites having access to safe
sanitation. Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central have poor reported access to safe
sanitation. Harare also has low access to safe water and sanitation from suburbs such as
Epworth and Hatcliffe Extension. Lack of progress in water and sanitation exposes
households to water borne diseases particularly with the onset of the rain season.
“The council should erect and properly maintain public toilets in public places like
Mupedzanammo and Mbare Informal Industry (Siyaso)”
Monitor, Harare
Transport availability and cost
determines access to services. The
nominal transport costs to the nearest
centre where health services can be
accessed was reported to have remained
relatively constant since June 2009,
except for a lower average level reported
in September 2011 (Table 11).
Matabeleland North had the highest
reported transport cost. While these
costs have remained relatively constant
improved availability of supplies,
including in local health services, means
that people have less distance to travel to
access servces, For example if women
have to travel to district hospitals to
access maternity services (and
Table 11:Nominal costs of transport to nearest
centre
Province
US$ Cost
Total Sept 2012 1.20
Total June 2012 1.20
Total Sept 2011 0.98
Total June 2011 1.13
Total Sept 2010 1.19
Total June 2010 1.15
Total June 2009 1.20
Total Sept 2009 1.03
Total Oct 2007 1.05
Total Aug 2005 0.89
Total July 2004 1.01
Note: 2004, 2005 and 2007 fares used parallel
exchange rates for Z$ conversion
midwives) this increases transport cost barriers to use of services and the costs will be
much higher than the $1.20 noted above as the cost to the nearest centre.
9