Review of Food for Peace Market-Based Emergency Food Assistance Programs: Zimbabwe Case Study Report

Zimbabwe reflects the recent Southern African drought crisis during a period of a regional El Niño-related drought and a national cash crisis. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Food for Peace (FFP) funded a mix of programming between fiscal years 2011 and 2015, including local and regional purchase of food and, to a lesser extent, cash transfers. With a high level of uncertainty about the regional food supply and the national economy, in 2016 FFP largely shifted to US sourced in-kind food aid, while other donors continued cash transfers. FFP funding to the World Food Programme supported the Productive Asset Creation program, which had strong livelihood development linkages that helped beneficiaries move to resilience pathways and prepare for future climatic shocks. Excellent coordination among humanitarian actors and the government contributed to an effective patchwork of cash transfers and in-kind aid, maintaining a sufficient national supply of both food and cash with which to buy food.