Gwanda District lies in Matabeleland south province. The district is bordered by Umzingwane district in the north and Insiza in the east, Beitbridge in the south, Kezi, Matopo district in the west and the Republic of Botswana in the southwest. The district is in region 4 and 5 where rainfall patterns are erratic. The district‘s economic backbone revolves around livestock rearing, small and large gold mining and subsistence farming. The district consists of 24 wards with a population that stands at 141 826 (Central Statistics Office; 2002). The district is faced with multiple socio-economic and developmental problems, one of them being the ever-escalating rise in people who need food aid.
2.10.2 Overview of the climatic conditions
Climatic conditions in the country are mainly subtropical with one rainy season between November and March and this is the season when agricultural activities are at peak. The country has five natural regions with varying degrees of annual rainfall and production potential. Gwanda District lies in natural regions four and five comprising of the following climatic conditions. The map below reflects the location of Gwanda District as well as the agro-ecological zones of Zimbabwe.
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Figure 3: Location of Gwanda District, and Agro-ecological zones of Zimbabwe. Source: http://www.mediamaps.com
2.10.2a Region Four (IV) and Five (V): Intensive to Semi-extensive farming
The region receives too low and erratic rainfall to sustain even the most drought resistant crop. Annual rainfall is between 450 and 650mm, covering about 147 800 square kilometres (38% of the total area), this area forms the largest part of the geographical regions in the country yet it has next to the least favourable climatic conditions for agricultural purposes. The specialization of this region is mainly extensive livestock breeding and production of drought resistant crops such the grains millet and rapoko.
Location of Gwanda District
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The main agricultural activities in this area include extensive cattle and game ranching and covers 104 400 square kilometres which constitutes 27% of the total land area. The natural regions one and two which are mainly for communal farmland have been unproductive for almost a decade ever since the illegal farm invasion by the government sponsored war veterans. The bulk of the land lies in the low potential natural region four and five. Zimbabwe remains one of the worst affected countries in the region in terms of food availability. The climatic phenomenon of the region has exacerbated food insecurity and hunger in the district. This becomes clear testimony that the district of Gwanda has unfavourable climatic conditions which impacted negatively on food productivity of the entire district leaving the community inhabitants with no option but to depend on food handouts from World Vision International.
2.10.3 Ecological characteristics of the District
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A visual appreciation of the agro-ecological characteristics impacting on the agricultural productivity of Gwanda District is presented in figure 4 above.
2.10.4 Agricultural sector
The major challenge of food security in Gwanda District is the underdeveloped nature of its agricultural sector that is characterized by the over-reliance on primary agriculture, low fertility soils, minimal use of external farm inputs, environmental degradation, and significant crop loss both pre-and post- harvest. Almost 95% of the food in Matabeleland is grown under rain fed agriculture and hence food production is vulnerable to adverse weather conditions. The district has an overall decline in farm input including fertilizers, seeds, and technology adoption. Further to compound the problem of underdeveloped agricultural sector in Matabeleland has been the poor government policies that have always had an element of marginalising the provinces of Matabeleland.
2.10.4.1 Irrigation schemes
Another problem that has exacerbated food shortages in the district is lack of irrigation schemes to boost agricultural production. This has ultimately left small peasant farms in the communal lands vulnerable to unfavourable rainfall conditions. Though the government of Zimbabwe has tried to commission several irrigation schemes in the district its efforts have been brought to a stand still due to lack of foreign currency to service machinery and water unavailability.
The rural population of Gwanda District has not been spared from food shortages that the country is experiencing; however the problems of food shortages have worsened in natural regions four and five where the district under study lies. Household poverty is at its extremes as a result of the low agricultural potential of the land in the district (Central Statistics Office, 1998:52). Due to the above mentioned problems food aid intervention from humanitarian agencies such as World Vision International are therefore concentrated and prioritised on this area.
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With the above mentioned background, it becomes clear that there are various factors contributing to the looming food shortages in Zimbabwe and Gwanda District respectively; and this renders food aid intervention inevitable. It is also of importance to articulate the political climate that characterise Zimbabwe during the period understudy and how food has been labelled by the two conflicting political parties, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the ruling party ZANU-PF.