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(Mapanzure
villagers- waiting to collect their food)
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“All
the areas outside the irrigation range had close to nothing. Our cereals where
burnt down by the sun. Worst still, there were no adequate rains during the
year. I remember that I harvested 50kgs of maize last year, and I had to depend
on that 50kg bag of maize for all my day to day expenses. The food supplements
which we are given by the WFP are really helping us improve our diets. Every
time we come to work in our gardens, we feel that we are working for the benefit
of us”, said Mudadigwa, a 60year old women of Mapanzure who is a participant in
the FFA project.
The Food for Asset (FFA) project,
which is funded by the World Food Programme (WFP), is covering Masvingo Rural,
ward 22 & 29. This program started in June and it will end in December 2013. There is one irrigation scheme in
ward 22, (Mapanzure). There are four gardens and one irrigation scheme in Ward
29, (Nyikavanhu).
The Project’s main goal is to promote asset formation
in order to increase resilience to food security shocks and enhance access to
food for non-labour constrained vulnerable households.
Providing food during FFA will
enable protection of assets while helping in rehabilitation and creation of
assets that will improve community resilience in times of shock. The project
will contribute to restore food security assets that can sustain communities in
Masvingo Rural.
Some of the participants come from
far away villages such as Makasi, Magangani etc. Maramwidze Taurai, a participant
in the FFA program said; “I don’t mind walking this long distance because this
is where my money is buried”.
In order to remove donor syndrome
amongst communities, food insecure households provide labour while receiving food
handouts chained by BHASO from WFP. Common benefits discussed by the Mapanzure
community included; change of diet, generation of income and the willingness to
maintain the gardens. Some of the common problems which led to people join the
FFA program include, lack of financial muscles and drought.
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