Food vouchers in Zimbabwe (Special Supplement 3)

By Ann Witteveen and Lewis Lawrence Musa, Oxfam

The food voucher programme was designed to target the most

vulnerable between December and February, the most food
deficit months in Zimbabwe. The target group were chronically
food insecure people who in normal years would cope by getting
assistance from others, but who were not expected to get
sufficient assistance from friends and relatives in a period of
food shortage.

The food voucher activity was implemented by Oxfam in four

districts in two provinces of Zimbabwe in December 2004 and in
January 2005. Food was provided through vouchers to a total of
1,600 people (320 households (HH)). The vouchers were valued Children returning from miller with
at Z$50,000 - enough to purchase 18kg maize or 10kg maize maize bought at the Grain Marketing
meal, 2kg beans and 0.375kg of oil. Traders were also Board.
encouraged to purchase from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB)
where possible.

Problems encountered
A few problems arose. Low availability of certain food
commodities locally delayed some of the fairs conducted in
February by a few days, as traders searched for food to
purchase. Some politicians took advantage of the community
gatherings and addressed the community members either before
or after the activity (national elections were held in Zimbabwe in
March 2005). Food insecurity continued to deteriorate as the
programme was being implemented. Additional households were
registered for a second round of vouchers, and also households
agreed for vouchers to be given to only one person/ household
so that more households could be targeted. This meant that not A Chiru boy watering his vegetable
all food needs of vulnerable households were met, thus limiting garden.
the impact of the programme.

Targeting
The community based targeting method was used through the Village Relief and Rehabilitation Committees
(VRRC) and local leaders to identify the beneficiaries. A high turnout of unregistered community members
was observed on the day of beneficiary verification and on the actual date for implementation of the food
voucher activity in some districts. The team took this to be an indication of increased food needs. There were
complaints from people not registered.

A series of meetings were held with community leaders,

representatives and traders in order to make the traders aware
of the programme and how it would be implemented. It was
noted however that most of those representing traders were
shop keepers (employees or relatives of the owner who did not
live in the community at all, but rather in Harare) and not the
owners of the shops. This slowed down the process, as decisions
could not be reached immediately.

During the first voucher activity in December 2004, many

traders indicated no interest in participating, citing possibilities of
their monies being tied up before they could get paid while
others indicated that Christmas was near and they needed their
money to stock up seasonal items. In the end the traders who
did take part were generally happy with the interventions. The
food voucher payments usually took place within a week of the
activity.
Women tending to an Oxfam
The procedure supported onion garden.
Beneficiary identification and registration
The community VRRC, community leaders and community members identified and verified the beneficiaries
according to who was most vulnerable, e.g. persons affected and/or infected by HIV/AIDS or chronically ill
persons with limited ability to secure food and/or no-one to assist them.

The food distribution manager and the community facilitators (both Oxfam GB staff) monitored the process of
targeting to ensure transparency and fairness. The VRRCs called an open village meeting where the identified
beneficiary names were called out, discussed and agreed upon. The identified beneficiaries were registered
using Oxfam GB designed registration forms. The registration list was also used by community facilitators,
community leaders and VRRC members to conduct follow up visits.

Centre and food trader identification

The community facilitators, under the guidance of the food distribution manager and livelihoods manager,
discussed possible venues/traders for the food vouchers with the community leaders, VRRC, and
beneficiaries.

Identified criteria included clean with no rodents, construction in good condition for food storage and
protection from rain and rodents. In addition, there were certain requirements of the trader, e.g. should be
able to read and write, have good record keeping skills, etc.

The stock of food in the identified traders shop was recorded by the community faciltiators and food
distribution manager prior to procurement by beneficiaries. This information was vital in determining if the
beneficiaries procured food or other items.

Food purchase by beneficiaries

A day was set aside after the registration of beneficiaries in which they were supplied with the food vouchers.
One week was given to procure food. In practice, vouchers and food were exchanged in a day. The trader
was paid by Oxfam GB based on the total value of food vouchers acquired from beneficiaries.

Food Voucher Activity Report writing

The community facilitators documented each step and compiled a report using the standardised report format
while attaching all the necessary documents. Findings were discussed with other Oxfam GB managers and
changes to the implementation were recommended.

Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM)

Monitoring was conducted by the community facilitators and the food distribution manager two to three weeks
after the food voucher activity. Data were collected from community members and VRRCs.

After paying vendors, staff from the finance department based in Harare visited a few days after the fair. This
ensured the accounts and payments were rigorously monitored.

Lessons learnt
Food vouchers are appropriate when food is identified by the community to be their priority need and there is
potential for food provision through local traders. Beneficiaries preferred food vouchers to food distribution
and traders valued the intervention. Given the time it takes to plan food voucher programmes, it is necessary
to base beneficiary numbers on projections of needs at the time of intervention, rather than needs at the time
of planning the intervention. When food sources are distant from the emergency affected area, traders should
be given sufficient time to source and stock food.

Taken from Field Exchange Issue 103, March 2006

http://fex.ennonline.net/103/6-5-2.aspx

© 2010. ENN is a registered charity in the UK no. 1115156, and a limited company no. 4889844.