Background

• The 2012 Rural livelihoods Assessment was conducted following three consecutive years of a relatively stable macro-economic environment in Zimbabwe.

• The economy grew by 9.3% in 2011 and is estimated to grow by 9.4% in 2012. However, the growth prospects for 2012 have been lowered by under-performance of major economic sectors in the first quarter of 2012 and the impact of the drought on the 2011/12 season’s agricultural production.

Foreword from the Chief Executive Officer

GIEWS global information and early warning system on food and agriculture

11 February 2011

Heavy rainfall recorded in December and January (Figure 1) across Southern Africa has caused water-logging and localised crop losses in parts of the sub-region, particularly in Lesotho and across the Zambezi basin. The torrential rains have resulted in elevated river levels, with many regions remaining on alert due to increased possibility of further flooding in downstream areas. However, vegetation conditions,

- Results of the of the crop forecasting by the Bureau of Statistics show higher maize production (98,035 MT) compared to last year's production of 57,127 MT.

- According to the LVAC annual post-harvest livelihoods assessment about 200,000 people will need humanitarian assistance in 2010/11.

- Households assisted with planting inputs through the EU Food Facility generally planted larger areas than those not assisted.

Madagascar

- The number of municipalities experiencing severe food insecurity situation in the South Madagascar was revised by

=B7 Results of the of the crop forecasting by the Bureau of Statistics show higher maize production (98,035 MT) compared to last year's production of 57,127 MT.

=B7 The LVAC has undertaken its annual post-harvest livelihoods assessment from 25 May - 2 June and data analysis is ongoing.

=B7 Households assisted with planting inputs through the EU Food Facility generally planted larger areas than those not assisted.

Madagascar

=B7 Producer price of rice is currently very volatile in main rice granary of Madagascar.

=B7 Following the passage of The MTS Joel,

Tout porte à croire, notamment les preuves réunies pour la présente Revue annuelle sur les diamants et la sécurité humaine, que le Processus de Kimberley (PK), conçu pour mettre un terme aux « diamants de guerre » et en prévenir la réapparition, est sur la voie de l'échec. Le coût de son effondrement serait désastreux pour une industrie qui profite à tant de pays, et pour les millions de personnes de pays en développement qui en dépendent, directement ou indirectement. On verrait

October to March constitutes the main rainfall season over most of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. From October to December 2009, most of the western parts of conterminous SADC will have an increased chance of receiving normal to below-normal rainfall with the exception of extreme west of Angola, northern Mozambique, bulk of Malawi and eastern parts of Zambia which are expected to receive above-normal rainfall. The eastern part of conterminous SADC is likely to have an increased chance of receiving normal to above-normal

- National production of maize in 2009 is estimated at 1.14 million tonnes, an increase of 130 percent on that of the record low harvest of 2008. Total domestic cereal availability for 2009/10 is estimated to be 1.39 million tonnes. This includes a forecast production of winter-season wheat of about 12 000 tonnes, the lowest ever and dramatically down from 242 000 tonnes in 2006. Wheat farming is plagued with the high cost of production relative to returns (especially non-payment for last year's crop), the shortage of financial liquidity, and the uncertainty

The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) has carried annual household surveys to understand the food security situation for rural households in Zimbabwe since 2002. The surveys took place between May and August and were relatively heavy in terms of financial, human and transport resources requirements. In 2008, the rural household food security assessment survey was crowded out by the presidential elections. Demands for food security information by various agencies that had come to rely on the ZimVAC rural food security assessments