Zimbabwe: Vulnerability Assessment Committee Results 2015

Situation Overview

The ZIMVAC 2015 rural livelihoods assessment indicated that approximately 10% of the rural population is projected to be food insecure for the period of October - December 2015 and that 16% of the rural popultationis projected to be food insecure for the period of January - March 2016.

Demand for cereals is high in the southern provinces, following very poor harvests. The 2014-15 total cereal production for all provinces was lower than the previous season and the five-year average. Most markets in these southern provinces have limited supplies of grain due to poor inflows from distant source areas (Mashonalands, parts of Midlands and Manicaland) which experienced lower than usual production.

Zimbabwe currently has a national cereal deficit of around 650 000 MT. for the 2015-16 consumption year. The Grain Marketing Board’s (GMB) Strategic Grain Reserve levels are reportedly 76 percent below their minimum required. Grain deliveries to the GMB are very low this year, with only 29 percent (11,500 MT) received as of early July, compared to 40,000 MT by the same time last year. WFP is currently implementing a Food for Assets (FFA) program (between May and November) in 9 priority districts, targeting a total of nearly 18,000 beneficiaries.