Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Unfortunately, a number of the objectives had to be modified during the
research process due to a number of external influences. For instance,
objective 3 had to be dropped due to changes that were brought about by
Operation Restore Order, a project started on 19 May 2005 by the
Government of Zimbabwe to clean up its cities. The operation resulted in the
destruction of homes, business premises and vending sites, including most of
those who were practising UA who were interviewed in April and early May
2005. Those affected moved to stay with friends and family or found
temporary shelter in churches. Because many of the displaced persons in this
sample were scattered in different locations and were highly mobile, it became
impossible to measure their production performance.
Meanwhile, the fourth objective was also modified to mirror the changes
brought about by Operation Restore Order because it was impossible to
assess crop performance and farmer choices. This objective, therefore, became
more generic, being restated as: To identify key factors accounting for
variation in food security and livelihood status in an urban setting.
M
ETHODS
A livelihoods-based vulnerability analysis framework, based on the assessment
used during the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment (ZIMVAC, 2003), was
applied to guide data collection and analysis. This framework seeks to clarify the
mechanisms by which people obtain access to food and other essential resources
and services within communities, by offering a framework that allows for
interpretation and monitoring of data such as market prices. It is a framework
that provides a geographic and socio-economic basis on which to understand the
strategies that people use to meet their basic needs (FEWSNet, 2005). Data
sources included a secondary data review, household surveys, focus-group
discussions and key informant interviews. The widely accepted minimum daily
energy requirement of 2100 kcal per day for an average adult (FAO, 1993; WFP,
2000; UNHCR and WFP, 1997) was used as a benchmark for the study.
However, since other nutrient requirements are such that 10-12 per cent of
energyinthedietshouldbeintheformofproteinandatleast17percentofthe
energy in the diet should be in the form of fats, by difference 70 per cent of the
daily energy requirements of 2100 kcal come from cereals. Food security is
achieved when at least 70 per cent of the energy requirement is met.
Four focus groups for soliciting the community's perspectives on the
division of labour, income and food sources, coping strategies and challenges
faced were assembled. The groups consisted of 8-10 men and women. Each
group included a mix of people who were and were not involved in UA. A
gender-specialist facilitator guided the discussion to ensure it stayed on topic,
while the researcher and a note-taker recorded the discussion. A number of
participatory approaches were used: seasonal calendars for understanding
seasonal aspects, timelines to identify events affecting well-being, proportional
piling to determine relative magnitudes and Venn diagrams to depict the
