Zimbabwe - Vulnerability Assessment Committee: Market Assessment, October 2015

The assessment was undertaken as a follow up to the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) 2015 Rural Livelihoods Assessment (RLA) conducted in June which identified about 16% of the rural population (approximately 1,5 million people) as food insecure during the lean period. One of the key recommendations from the RLA report is the need to promote the use of cash-based transfer modalities in order to promote the local economy where feasible when responding to the needs of the food insecure households. This assessment was conducted in 50 districts identified in the RLA as having high food insecurity with the objective of assessing the feasibility of undertaking cash or voucher based interventions. Specifically, the assessment focused on assessing markets and traders’ capacity and ability to supply food commodities (maize grain, maize meal, sugar beans and cooking oil) in a timely manner and in enough volumes so as not to cause stock outs and price surges.