Maricho November Edition

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27About half ofZimbabweansliving in abjectpovertyMore than 6 million Zimbabweans are extremelypoor but the number of poor people measuredby the lower-bound poverty line rose to 8.9million from 8.0 million during the risingfrom 4,5 million in 2017,, according to aJoint Zimbabwe Poverty Update 2017–19 produced by theZimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) and WorldBank.stressed the livelihoods of many Zimbabweans, therebyaffecting households in urban areas more in relative termscompared to households in rural areas.In 2017 the ZimStat completed a Poverty, Income,Consumption and Expenditure Survey (PICES) thatgenerated a welfare and poverty estimate for that year.However, the economic and social events in late 2018 andearly 2019 may have led to changes in the poverty levels ofthe population, suggesting the need for an update. Notably,rapid food price inflation, coupled with poor rainfall during the2018/19 agricultural season, may have significantly affectedFurthermore, whereas the number of extremely poor peoplein urban areas increased by about 327,000, it rose by 1.1million in rural areas. The increase in poverty rates and thenumber of extremely poor and poor people during the periodunder review can be attributed to high inflation coupled withthe contraction of the economy and a poor 2018/19 rainfallseason.These negative changes in the economy are likely to haveMARICHOA resource for Agribusiness
28poverty levels. These events also increased the proportion offood-insecure Zimbabweans, especially during the lean seasonwhen household stocks are exhausted.The decline in the exchange rate of the Zimbabwean dollar led torising costs of imports. This, combined with increasing transportcosts, has also negatively impacted households since 2017. Inthis regard, government and its development partners indicatedthe desire to obtain an updated picture of poverty levels andliving conditions in the country, triggering the need for the Mini-PICES 2019.The two major objectives of the Mini-PICES 2019 were to:• update the poverty estimates for the country; and• obtain a quick understanding of living conditions post 2017.The survey was guided by the PICES Technical Committee,chaired by ZIMSTAT, and comprised members from the WorldBank, United Nations Children’s Fund, the United NationsDevelopment Programme, the Ministry of Finance and EconomicDevelopment, and the Ministry of Public Service, Labour andSocial Welfare.The report showed that Extreme poverty rose from 30 percentin 2017 to 38 percent in April–May 2019, and general poverty(measured by the lowerbound poverty line) rose from 43 percentto 51 percent during the same period. Although extreme povertyincreased in both urban and rural areas, in relative terms, extremepoverty rose more in urban areas. In absolute terms, rural extremepoverty remained much higher than urban extreme povertyThe general poverty rate based on the lowerbound poverty lineremained high. It changed marginally for the rural population,but in urban areas it rose sharply, from 16 percent to 24 percentduring the same period.The proportion of the extreme poor covered by social assistanceprograms increased between 2017 and 2019, but such programsstill reached only half of the extreme poor.All programs were shown to be progressive, benefiting the poormore than the rich, but there is scope to improve the targetingof the poor because only 40 percent of all social assistanceprogram beneficiaries are extremely poor. The cash-for-workprogram was the most effective in terms of having an impact onpoverty reduction.Simulations show that the rapid price increases that affectedZimbabwe between April–May 2019 and December 2019 mayhave increased extreme poverty from 38 percent to 52 percent.The study shows that the price increases of maize, bread, andcereals had the largest impact on poverty.According to the PICES 2017 data, the share of maize meal in totalhousehold consumption is three times higher in urban areas (1.8percent) than in rural areas (0.3 percent). Maize meal subsidiesthus benefit urban households more than rural ones.It was also noted that within urban areas, maize meal subsidieswere more likely to benefit the middle groups than the poorestgroups. Rural households were unlikely to benefit from maizemeal subsidies because they rely on their own producedmaize grain, which forms 11 percent of their total consumptionexpenditure.However, this is unlikely to be the case in a poor rainfall year suchas 2018/19, when rural households have to purchase maize grainand maize meal.MARICHOA resource for Agribusiness
Page 1 and 2: NOVEMBERIssueA resource for Agribus
Page 3 and 4: IHow food innovation hubs will scal
Page 5 and 6: About the publisher &contributorsII
Page 7 and 8: 2age, and what happens in their DNA
Page 9 and 10: 4MARICHOA resource for Agribusiness
Page 11 and 12: 6expectations.Other areas that are
Page 13 and 14: 85 keyfactors forincreasingproducti
Page 15 and 16: 10Agronomist notebook:Dealing with
Page 17 and 18: 12Rainy seasonGo for systemic chemi
Page 19 and 20: 14also the one with the shortest li
Page 21 and 22: In the fieldKUTSAGAPUBLICATIONS16At
Page 23 and 24: 18As Utopia illustrates, technology
Page 25 and 26: 20How can you manage production ris
Page 27 and 28: Global food system emissions alonet
Page 29 and 30: 24Zim targetsUS$8.2 billionagric ou
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Page 35 and 36: 30In the fieldNigerian farmer choos
Page 37 and 38: 32Cannabis Consumption Reflects Dra
Page 39 and 40: 34Designer livestock,poultry not id

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