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Zimbabwe Baseline Survey - September 2003
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Executive Summary
C-SAFE is a jointly planned and implemented response by World Vision, CARE and CRS to the current food security problems plaguing the three southern Africa countries of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with World Vision serving as the lead. The C-SAFE Consortium represents the most significant collaborative initiative to date (both in scale and profile) embarked upon by these three largest American PVOs. The program itself is unique, in that it is neither exclusively emergency nor development oriented. Instead, C-SAFE works along the entire relief to development continuum, addressing the immediate nutritional needs of targeted vulnerable groups; as well as building productive assets and working with communities to increase their resilience to future food security shocks.
The development of the baseline survey began in March 2003. The baseline survey collected data on all outcome indicators listed in the M&E plan, as well as others, anticipating the need to measure the outcomes from future activities planned for Years 2 and 3. The main objectives of the baseline survey were 1) to establish baseline values of logframe indicators against which future measurements of goal-related changes (e.g., practices and/or systemic changes) can be made and 2) to increase understanding of livelihood security factors impacting the lives of rural households. Other secondary objectives were 1) to identify groups and geographic areas where food and livelihood security may be low and 2) to gather and analyze information that will assist project staff in designing or modifying appropriate interventions or generate information for further refining the project logframe.
C-SAFE and the United Nations World Food Programme collaborated on the design and implementation of the survey. This represented an opportunistic time to forge collaborative relationships in M&E with one of C-SAFE's main emergency partners in the region. It also imposed several challenges, including the combining of questionnaires such that both agencies would collect the information essential to their programs
The survey utilized a two-stage random sampling methodology in an effort to provide an unbiased and representative estimation of the information obtained. The sample includes data on a total of 1625 households.
The major findings of the study include:
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The sample included data on a total of 1625 households, 73.5 percent of which were headed by a male and 26.5 percent by a female. Communal settlements had the highest percentage of female-headed households at 30%.
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Household sizes are quite large and ranged from 1 to 23 individuals and the average size is 6.7 members. Over 10% of households have 10 or more members. Female-headed households average 6.2 members, significantly smaller than the 6.9 member average of male-headed households.
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Rural households have low asset value. In this survey, about 80% of households were classified as asset poor or very poor. Households with limited assets are vulnerable, not only because of their relative poverty, but also because they have few items to divest should they be forced to spend money on food or emergencies.
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In each district surveyed, the proportion of households that are asset very poor is over 40 %. Chiramunzu has the highest percentage in this category, followed closely by Bullimangwe and Gwanda.
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Almost half of female headed households were classified as asset very poor, compared to less than a third of male headed households. Of those female-headed households that are asset very poor or asset poor, a significant percentage (20% and 11%, respectively) are divorced or separated. In contrast, no asset intermediate or asset rich female-headed households are divorced or separated.
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Slightly over 35% of households are hosting on average just over two orphans. Over 90% of orphans are not children of the household where they live. Female-headed households host an average of 2.5 orphans compared to 1.9 hosted by male-headed households.
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Over 27% of households have at least one chronically ill member. The highest incidence of chronic illness is in old resettled. In natural region 1, one-third of households have at least one chronically ill member, which is significantly higher than all other regions.
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In C-SAFE operational areas, the percentage of vulnerable households is very high. Just over 60% of households surveyed are in at least one vulnerability category.
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Out of over 3,000 school-aged children, 81% are currently attending primary school. However, in one-third of households with school-age children, at least one age-eligible child is not attending school. A slightly higher percentage of age-eligible children are attending school in male-headed households as opposed to female-headed households (82% and 78%, respectively). School attendance varies considerably by district with Gutu, Beitbridge and Chiramunzu having the highest enrollment percentages and Kadoma, Gwanda and Chegutu having the lowest
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Just over 14% of households with age-eligible children report at least one child dropping out within the previous year. School-aged children living in households with chronically ill dropped out at a significantly higher rate than households without chronically ill. When households were asked why age-eligible children had dropped out of school, the majority cited the costs of education.
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The estimated value of standard assets owned by a household averages 194,000 Zim dollars (approximately US$139). The value of assets in male-headed households averages 40% higher than female-headed households. Asset values are significantly lower in newly resettled areas as opposed to communal and old resettled areas.
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The majority of households that were included in the study are engaged in agricultural activities. Only 6% of households did not cultivate crops in the season immediately preceding the survey. Almost 40% of all households cultivated less land than in the previous season. The most common reason for leaving some land fallow was a response to the drought conditions prevailing in the region. Nearly 3 out of 5 farm households altered their cropping behavior due to the drought.
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Relatively few households were engaged in selling crops during the current growing season. This is likely due to the low production gained from the crop along with the need to satisfy food requirements. The most commonly sold food crop was sorghum, perhaps partly for beer brewing. Only 12% of all farm households surveyed were engaged in cash crop production, with groundnuts and cotton being the two most prevalent.
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Just over 18% of households engaged in on-farm labour to access cereals, with an average payment of 80 kilograms. Almost one-quarter of asset very poor households gain cereals by providing on-farm casual labour, significantly more than other asset categories. Off-farm labour was found in only 6% of all households, with about the same average payment as on-farm labour. Gifts or remittances were the most important alternative source of cereals, and were found in almost one-quarter of all households. The average gift or remittance was 83 kilograms.
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Almost 68% of households surveyed received an average of 173 kgs of general food aid during the last twelve months. Nearly 80% of female-headed households received food aid as opposed to 64% of male-headed households. General food aid was received by nine out of every ten households living in communal areas. In contrast, less than one of every ten households living in newly resettled areas received food aid and only 3 out of every ten living on old resettled lands received general food aid.
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Over 45% of households gained an average of over 2,600 Zim dollars in income from participation in government food-for-work programs.
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Male-headed households spend slightly more on food than female-headed households, but less on non-staple foods. They spend slightly more on agricultural inputs and less on household goods. Households with chronically ill members spend significantly more on health care than the general population, but spend slightly less on education, household goods and agricultural inputs. Households hosting orphans spend significantly more on education an less on staple foods and household goods.
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Agricultural input access varies from district to district. Cereal seed has the largest variance among the nine districts, with over 90% of households in Gutu reporting insufficient access. In Gweru, Kadoma and Bubi over 80% of households report insufficient access. Gwanda had the best access to cereal seed, with one-third of households reporting insufficient access. Access to cereal seed in no way ensures access to cash crop seed. Districts such as Kadoma appear to have poor access to cereal seed but not to cash crop seed.
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Improved cropping practices included agro-forestry, lime application, drip irrigation, water harvesting, improved food storage, winter plowing, conservation tillage, urea treatment of stover, incorporation of legumes, and fodder production and storage. Less than 25% of those surveyed employed used any one of these techniques during the last growing season. Of those used, conservation tillage and improved food storage were the most common.
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Over half of households report borrowing food, borrowing money to buy food, or buying food on credit during the last 30 days. Almost two-thirds relied on less preferred food (food other than maize) more than 1-2 times per week. Over three-quarters of households are reducing the number of meals they eat at least once per week, with almost half reducing the number of meals they eat every day. A large percent of households skip entire days of eating at least 1-2 times per week.
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Households regularly reduce the amount of food for adults so that children can eat normally, but few feed working members in preference to nonworking members. Harvesting and eating all of the available green maize is not strongly practiced and only 10% of households eat green maize one or more times per week.
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Communal households have the lowest coping strategy index and households on old resettled lands had the highest. The higher the coping strategy index, the more food insecure the household. Households with chronically ill members and households hosting orphans had almost identical indices. Asset very poor households and asset poor households had significantly higher indices than asset intermediate and asset rich households.
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Over half of all households reported a member sick within the last two weeks. Of those that were ill, formal healthcare was sought in the majority of cases. For those not seeking formal healthcare, the most cited reason was they had no way to pay for treatment.
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Almost 11% of households had one or more adults die in the last year after being sick for at least three months.
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