BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF PEACE AND GOVERNANCE

RESEARCH TITTLE: THE IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT AID INTERVENTION BY ZIMBABWE AGRICULTURE, INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT (Zim-AIED) ON POVERTY REDUCTION. A CASE STUDY OF MAZOWE DISTRICT- WARD 11 FROM 2010 TO 2014.

REJOICE NGANDU

REGISTRATION NUMBER: B1128301

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR: MS NGWERUME

DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) DEGREE IN PEACE AND GOVERNANCE AT BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION.

NOVERMBER 2014

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RELEASE FORM

NAME OF STUDENT: REJOICE NGANDU

PROJECT TITTLE:AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT AID BY ZIMBABWE AGRICULTURE, INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT (Zim-AIED) ON POVERTY REDUCTION. A CASE STUDY OF MAZOWE DISTRICT- WARD 11 FROM 2010 TO 2014. DEGREE TITTLE: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) DEGREE IN PEACE AND GOVERNANCE

SUPERVISOR : MS NGWERUME

YEAR OF AWARD: 2015

Permission is hereby granted to Bindura University Library to produce single copies of this dissertation and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purpose. Only the author reserves other publication rights and; neither the dissertation nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author’s written permission.

SIGNED DATE

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PERMANENT ADDRESS

Nyachuru Secondary School

P.O Box 223

Howard- Glendale.

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APPROVAL FORM

The undersigned certify that they have supervised the student B1128301 dissertation entitled ‘An assessment of the impact of development aid intervention by Zimbabwe Agriculture, Income and Employment Development (Zim-AIED) on poverty reduction. A case study of Mazowe District- Ward 11 from 2010 to 2014, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Peace and Governance at Bindura University of Science Education.

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SUPERVISOR SIGNATURE DATE

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CHAIRPERSON SIGNATURE DATE

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DECLARATION FORM

I Ngandu Rejoice do hereby declare that this is my original work and has not been submitted in any Institution or University of higher learning for the award of any academic qualification.

Signed………………………………………………………Date…………………………..

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SUPERVISOR

Signed______

Date______

MS. NGWERUME

DEPARTMENT OF PEACE AND GOVERNANCE

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DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Wellington Ngandu for their undying and timely encouragement and support throughout my studies financially.

Heavenly father bless them all.

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ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of developmental aid intervention by Zimbabwe Agriculture, Income and Empowerment Development (Zim-AIED) on poverty reduction. The study was conducted in Chiwororo Ward 11 of Mazowe District in Mashonaland Central province. The objectives of the study were to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of development aid intervention by Zim- AIED on poverty reduction in Mazowe District- Chiwororo Rural Community and to identify the roles of development aid organization on rural livelihood. The other objective was to assess the impact of development aid on sustainable development. The researcher employed a case study research design. The researcher made use of focus group discussion, interviews as well as key informant questionnaires as data collection instruments. Out of the 600 Zim-AIED beneficiaries a sample of 60 respondents was used encompassing 3 key informant respondents and 57 respondents belonging to the rural beneficiaries of Chiwororo Ward 11. On rural beneficiaries 3 focus group discussion sessions were conducted with each group consisting of 17 respondents. Major findings were that Zim-AIED program is addressing the concept of poverty reduction and self-reliance through equipping every level of citizens in farming projects in line with ZIMASSET. It has increased agricultural productivity and sales to its beneficiaries in Chiwororo Ward. The government was the major input supplier in Chiwororo Ward and Zim-AIED came to compliment the efforts of the government. The recommendations from the findings were that there is need for collaboration between development partners and the recipients of development funding in the way input loans are offered and returned. The researcher also recommends the development partners to put high commitment fees so that only serious farmers will join and constant supervision should be done so that the principles of the organization can be followed. This will go a long way in addressing the concerns of the beneficiaries and higher outputs will be achieved.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere gratitude goes to the following people for their valued support rendered in carrying out this study.

My supervisor Ms. Ngwerume for her continuous assessment of my research project, successes scored can mostly be attributed to the quality of supervision received from her. I further appreciate various Focus Group Discussion participants in Chiwororo ward for sharing their views, comments and experiences with me (Zim-AIED beneficiaries) as well as its agencies in Mazowe District for answering my interviews and questionnaire forms respectively. As requested your identity will not be revealed.

The support of my fellow Peace and Governance students who worked tirelessly with me throughout the whole project is of great value. The commitment offered to my study by my husband and daughter Kayler Mufaro Jonga cannot be left unmentioned. Last but not least, special thanks go to my father Wellington Ngandu and my mother Ellen Mashanda for their unwavering financial and emotional support which cannot go unmentioned.

All of you and those not mentioned but in one way or another contributed to the success of this study, I wish to express my unconditional and sincere gratitude.

Above all, I thank Jehovah, The rock of ages who has led me in everything that I did during my academic dissertation research, through giving me directions.

MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU ALL.

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ABBREVIATIONS AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

DAC Development Assistant Committee

DFID Department For International Development

Dos Development Objectives

EU European Union

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FGD Focus Group Discussion

GDI Gender-related Development Index

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GEM Gender Empowerment Measure

GOZ Government of Zimbabwe

HIV Human Immune-deficiency Virus

IPs Implementing Partners

LDCs Less Developed Countries

MDC Movement for Democratic Change

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MRDC Mazowe Rural District Council

NGOs Non-Governmental Organization

ODA Official Development Assistance

SAT Sustainable Agriculture Technology

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

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USAID United States Agency for International Development

ZANU- PF Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front

ZFU Zimbabwe Farmers Union

Zim-AIED Zimbabwe Agriculture, Income and Employment Development

ZUNDAF Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework

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Contents

RELEASE FORM…………………………………………………………………………….i APPROVAL FORM ...... ii DECLARATION FORM ...... iii DEDICATION ...... iv ABSTRACT ...... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... vi LIST OF TABLES ...... i Table 1: response rate of the respondents………………………………………………...... xii

LIST OF FIGURES ...... ii Figure 1: map of Mashonaland Central showing Mazowe District………………………...... ii CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION...... 1 1.0 Background to the research study ...... 1 1.1 Objectives ...... 6 1.2 Aim ...... 6 1.3 Statement of the problem ...... 6 1.4Research questions ...... 7 1.5 Assumptions ...... 7 1.6 Significance of the study ...... 7 1.7 Possible limitations ...... 8 1.8 Delimitations of the study ...... 8 1.9 Key definitions ...... 9 1.10 Summary ...... 11 CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 12 2.0 Introduction ...... 12 2.1 Theoretical framework ...... 12 2.1.1 Dependency theory ...... 12 2.2Role of development aid organization ...... 15 2.2.1 Factors influencing dependency syndrome in households ...... 16 2.2.2Education, development aid and poverty reduction ...... 16 2.2.3Household size, age and development ...... 17 2.2.4Source of income in rural areas/rural development ...... 17

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2.3 Sustainable development ...... 18 2.3.1 Regional, Demographic and Cultural Factors ...... 18 2.3.2 Institutional and Socio-economic Factors ...... 20 2.4 The impact of development assistance on Poverty alleviation or reduction ...... 20 2.5Summary ...... 22 CHAPTER 3- METHODOLOGY ...... 23 3.0 Introduction ...... 23 3.1Research Design...... 23 3.1.1Research Instruments ...... 23 3.1.2 Interviews ...... 24 3.1.3 Primary sources ...... 24 3.1.4 Secondary sources ...... 24 3.2 Target population ...... 24 3.3Sample and sample size ...... 25 3.4Data collection procedures ...... 26 3.5Data presentation and analysis procedures ...... 27 3.6 Summary ...... 27 CHAPTER 4: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ...... 27 4.0 Introduction ...... 28 4.1Presentation of demographic data ...... 28 4.2Support offered by Zim-AIED organization to small holder farmers...... 28 4.2.1 Relationship between Zim-AIED projects with its beneficiaries given the current economic and operating environment ...... 29 4.2.2 Formal training from Zim-AIED ...... 29 4.2.3The impact of development aid by Zim-AIED on self-sustenance ...... 30 4.2.5 Strengths and weaknesses of development aid by Zim-AIED ...... 30 4.2.5.1 Strengths ...... 30 4.2.5.2Weaknesses ...... 32 4.2.6 Benefits from development assistance ...... 34 4.2.7 Challenges to both Zim-AIED and its beneficiaries regarding development assistance programmes and suggestions regarding development partner’s activities ...... 34 4.3 Secondary data ...... 35 4.3.1Assessment on regional peace and development services provided by Zim- AIED 35 4.3.2 Evaluation on Zim-AIED’s perception on peace and development ...... 36

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4.4 Summary ...... 37 CHAPTER 5- SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 38 5.0 Introduction ...... 38 5.1 Summary ...... 38 5.2 Conclusions ...... 41 5.3 Recommendations ...... 43 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………….49

APPENDICES ...... 51 APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW GUIDE ...... 51 APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE ...... 53 APPENDIX 3: RESEARCH PERMISSION FORM………………………………………...59

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: response rate of the respondents………………..…………………………..……29

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: map of Mashonaland Central showing Mazowe District………………………6

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CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION.

1.0 Background to the research study The study is based in ward 11 of Mazowe District in Mashonaland Central Province which is located approximately 85kilometers north of Harare. The area is in ecological region 2 and it receives an average of 700milimeters of rainfall annually which is suitable for both crop and animal production [Darara 2010 and Mazowe Rural District Council (MRDC-2012) pamphlets]. There are 35 wards in Mazowe District with a total population of approximately 233 450 people. According to ZIM-STAT-cartography section, Mazowe District is comprised of 233 450 citizens with 116 255 males and 117 155 females. Chiwororo ward 11 consist of 6 491 citizens with 3 043 males and 6 491 females (Central Statistics Office (2012).

Over the last decade, the role of development assistance organizations in poverty reduction has increasingly gained recognition. Today the main question in the international debate is no longer “whether” development partners has a role to play in poverty reduction, but “how” they can best realize its valuable contributions. What are the roles of various actors? What are critical factors and pre-conditions that have to be in place? How can external actors best provide support? Despite the great interest in the poverty reduction activities of civil society, there exists little systematic analysis on their specific potential, their limitations and critical factors, and guidance on how to support civil society poverty reduction initiatives, despite indications of significant challenges and doubts about sustainability and impact. What does exist is a wealth of largely descriptive accounts of specific civil society poverty reduction initiatives, as well as reflections on the conflict implications of development and humanitarian programs.

Zimbabwe has experienced several promising economic and political developments in recent years including a relatively successful harvest in 2010 and the introduction of the U.S dollar which revitalized output and input markets. Despite this, the standards of many livelihoods remained extremely fragile, with many households oscillating between emergency and recovery. In Zimbabwe, NGOs are showing concerns towards development and human security in form of development and humanitarian aid. The politicization of aid by NGOs is hindering development and Zimbabwe is experiencing high rates of food shortages which are becoming a perennial feature resulting in a high prevalence of undernourishment especially during the period between 2006 to 2014 (ZIM-STAT-cartography section). However,

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humanitarian and development assistances are contributing to the dependency syndrome particularly in rural population through civil societies like Zim-AIED (Zimbabwe Agriculture, Income and Employment Development) which are providing development aid to rural areas.

Zim-AIED is providing technical assistance to improve food security and increase household incomes for 180,000 rural Zimbabweans (Zim-AIED/AgriTrade Fact Sheet/May 2013). The market driven program's primary target crops and products are maize, paprika, banana, sugar bean, and livestock; secondary target crops and products include groundnuts, export horticulture (potato, chili, mango, passion fruit, and pineapple), and processed products. The mentioned products are few of the products and technologies Zimbabwean smallholders are adopting with assistance from Zim-AIED as they strive to raise their incomes through small- scale, commercial farming (Zim-AIED/AgriTrade Fact Sheet/May 2013).

The area bordering Mazowe District has been a political hotbed since the 2008 presidential run-off polls when Mugabe sought to overturn a first round defeat to MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Political instability became the order of the daily basis living conditions mainly caused by political polarization of members within communities. Members within communities became aligned to the two major political parties and political affiliation became the major deciding factor in community development issues and access to farming resources. The polarized environment also resulted in politically motivated violence and some members of communities were displaced. This was accompanied by the 2008 famine and outbreak of stock diseases like anthrax, black leg and red water have paved way for under development in Mazowe District, thereby reducing farmers’ potential to harvest enough yields since they lacked adequate beasts to use in ploughing as they had lost many during the famine as most of them rely on subsistence farming. Henceforth, the above situation has led development partners like Zim -AIED and FAO to achieve the objective of enhancing the livelihoods of rural communities in Mazowe District, among other, by providing agricultural inputs and by promoting the sustainable use of agricultural land and resources. While farmers in Mazowe District-ward 11 may be able to provide for themselves for a short period of time during the year, their household production and income is not sufficient to carry them from one harvest to the next, including funding for farming inputs. As outlined in the 2010 Country Analysis Report, the last decade has seen economic decline, which led to rising levels of poverty, unemployment and underemployment. Tackling these

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challenges and ensuring economic growth and development requires a multifaceted approach that combines macro- and microeconomic interventions, and addresses both the quantity and quality of employment and economic growth. This situation has led Zim- AIED to chip in Mazowe District with official development assistance (ODA) and the tragedy has led the researcher to engage on this research in order to come up with possible solutions and recommendations to development aid agencies, so that they will achieve their goals of upgrading peoples’ living standards as well as alleviating poverty rates.

There are several important studies on the Zimbabwean economy. The economy has shrunk by more than 40 per cent during the period under review. This has had a significant impact on unemployment and poverty levels, access to food and basic livelihoods. It is estimated that 80 per cent of the population lives below the poverty datum line and that more than a third of the population will require some form of development assistance rather than food aid to avoid the dependency syndrome until the estimate year of the achievement of the millennium development goals in 2015 (Zimbabwe Central Statistics Office: 2012). The outlook for the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, mining and tourism has been bleak in the past 4 years, and continues to be so. There has been underutilization of land in agriculture and of capacity in manufacturing as key inputs such as seed, fertilizer, fuel and electricity have been in short supply.

Since 2009, Zimbabwe’s economy has started to recover from a decade long crisis that saw economic output decline every year during the period 1999 to 2008, making a cumulative decline of more than 45%. Supported by a strong recovery in domestic demand and government consumption, real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 20% between 2009 and 2011. GDP growth was led by strong growth in mining (107%), agriculture (35%) and services (51%) (Zimbabwe Central Statistics Office: 2012). According to the World Bank, in 2011, Zimbabwe’s GDP (in purchasing power parity terms) was estimated at USD 9.6 billion with an annual growth of 9.4%. GDP per capita was USD 757 for a population of 12.8 million. Recovery in the manufacturing sector (22%) has been markedly less vigorous. Strong external demand for primary commodities (platinum, gold, cotton and tobacco) has supported higher production levels, which have recovered to pre-2000 levels in value terms. The value of mineral exports increased by 230% during the 2009-11 periods, while the value of agricultural exports increased by 101% over the same period. Since production levels of tobacco, cotton and gold have not yet recovered to their year 2000 levels, Zimbabwe has been

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unable to fully exploit the benefits of high international prices to boost exports further (Zimbabwe Central Statistics Office: 2012).

The agricultural sector is pivotal to the economy of Zimbabwe and contributes 14 to 18% of GDP, 40% of export earnings and provides 60% of raw materials for industry (World Bank- 2011). Most agriculture is dependent on rainfall rather than irrigation and production fluctuates in response to the amount of rain. The overall economic decline increased household vulnerability in rural areas. The decline in productive labour; the unavailability of, or inaccessibility to, key inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer; weak market linkages coupled with the dismantling of the farming sector; and the effects of climate change compound the deterioration of agricultural productivity. All these factors resulted in nearly seven million Zimbabweans being dependant on food aid in the first quarter of 2009 (World Bank-2011). Three relatively successful maize harvests 1.27 million tonnes in June 2009 (a two-fold increase over the previous year), 1.35 million tonnes in 2010 and a 4% increase during the 2011/12 season brought optimism that the country was turning the corner on its food insecurity. Food security conditions are generally stable across most of the country; however, the increased cost of living combined with slightly higher maize prices could affect the food security of low income households, particularly as households shift to market purchases to satisfy their food requirements.

The objective of Zimbabwe Agriculture, Income and Employment Development programme (Zim-AIED) under USAID is to increase the income and food security of agricultural producers and to generate more income and rural employment in agro-business through increased agricultural production, productivity, agro-processing and investment. Zim-AIED aims to help 180 000 rural households to increase yields and raise income by focusing on building capacity of small-scale agricultural producers; developing market linkages between small-scale agricultural producers and buyers; and improving small-holders’ access to credit (Zim-AIED/AgriTrade Fact Sheet/May 2013). The focus will be on market demand and value chains with markets that offer the highest returns to producers and agribusiness. Sub-sectors will include cash crops such as high-value vegetables, fruits and flowers; perennials such as coffee, tea, bananas, cotton and sugar; livestock; oilseeds and pulses; and staple food crops such as tubers, maize, cassava and others. Areas where Zimbabwe may possess a long-term competitive advantage will be emphasised, offering prospects of high-growth potential and producing domestic, regional and international market linkages; these advances would result

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in significant increases in producer and rural incomes, private investment, sales, employment, exports and import substitution, as well as improved availability, access to and utilisation of food.

In addition, Zim-AIED supports a credit facility established within three local banks. The banks match USAID funding dollar for dollar and on-lend to traders, processors and consolidators, providing liquidity within the value chain and enabling these businesses to purchase large amounts of produce from small-scale farmers. USAID also maintains a credit guarantee agreement directly with Standard Chartered Bank that lends to large-scale pack houses, exporters and other buyers in exchange for commitments to extend their out grower networks to greater numbers of smallholder farmers (Zim-AIED/ AgriTrade Fact Sheet/May 2013). The Zim-AIED team visited O’Enem Meat Products in the outskirts of Harare, an abattoir benefitting from the Zim-AIED Programme. By implementing such projects, USAID’s assistance in the agricultural sector is helping to jump-start the process of sustainable, private sector-driven agricultural recovery. These interventions enhance income and food security at the household level; contribute to a more prosperous, peaceful and stable country, and enable food aid to be phased out over the coming years. USAID’s assistance, in tandem with other donor efforts, is helping to revive agricultural productivity and restore the agricultural value chain, contributing to the United States Government foreign policy objective of advancing transformational diplomacy by promoting a market based economy (Zim-AIED/ AgriTrade Fact Sheet/May 2013).

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Figure 1 below shows the location of Mazowe District.

Figure 1: Map of Mashonaland Central Showing Location of Mazowe District Source: Surveyor General (1998) With Own Adaptation for Mazowe District of Mashonaland Central Province.

1.1 Objectives a) To identify the strengths and weaknesses of development aid intervention by Zim- AIED on poverty reduction process in Mazowe District-ward 11. b) To identify the roles of development aid organizations on rural livelihoods. c) To assess the impact of development aid on sustainable development.

1.2 Aim To assess the achievement of peace and sustainable development by Zim-AIED.

1.3 Statement of the problem For years, development aid had been ushered to support Mazowe –ward 11 in order to alleviate the standards of living of its residents. However , despite the presence of fertile lands in Mazowe District, ward 11 remains one of the poorest areas in Zimbabwe characterized by high unemployment rates, food deficits ,rising poverty as well as shortage of farming inputs . Following the period of economic meltdown and this HIV and AIDS pandemic era, now most households are living below the poverty datum line and this is

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affecting their access to adequate basic needs like food, shelter, peace and harmony. Poverty is contributing to excessive crimes like theft, robbery as well as murder in the community, thus perpetuating to macro conflicts as a barrier to peace. This situation made civil societies like FAO, Christian Care and Zim-AIED to chip in with both humanitarian and development aid. Thus, the intervention of civil societies in Chiwororo ward has inspired the researcher to assess their impact on peace building (that is civil society’s successes and weaknesses to the community pertaining peace issues).

1.4Research questions a) What are the strengths and weaknesses of development aid intervention on poverty reduction in Mazowe ward 11 by Zim-AIED? b) What are the roles of development aid organizations on rural livelihoods? c) What is the impact of development aid on sustainable development?

1.5 Assumptions The researcher is assuming to get honest responses and relevant information to the area of study from the targeted population:  That sample to be used is going to be representative of the target population.  That Zim- AIED development assistance is covering the whole of Mazowe District.  That Zim-AIED assistance programme is improving the standards of living as well as bringing peace to the households of Mazowe District-ward 11.

1.6 Significance of the study This study will be of great importance;  To the student or researcher in fulfillment of the requirements of Bachelor of Science Degree in Peace and Governance and enhancing research skills. It is meant to enhance the student’s knowledge on development assistance and give the student a platform to link theory learnt at university with practice. This research will also enable the student to acknowledge the importance of various issues on the subject at hand which will enable her to become marketable in the agencies that deals with aid issues.  To the university, the study seeks to fill in the gaps left by previous researchers who have written on the impacts of development aid, hence the research will be the basis

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of literature review to the staff and students who may want to carry out research at the similar topic.  To development aid organizations as it will have an in depth insight into areas that still require emphasis in order for them to be successful in achieving their main ambitions of peace building.  To the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the research will assist policy makers and program implementers to direct funding and program activities and maximize positive outcomes in the interventions that seek to address the challenges faced by Zimbabwean citizens concerning their standards of living.

1.7 Possible limitations Due to lack of familiarization to that community under study, the researcher will face resistance from the targeted population. There might be a problem in meeting with the respondents as well as getting enough information from them since they might be afraid of victimization from the government if confidentiality to their information does not take place (the Zimbabwean Government controls all activities of the country since its legislation decides on what is assented. However, the researcher will try to cope with the situation until she built rapport with targeted population. There might be political polarization in the community and a reference letter from Bindura University of Science Education, the student’s academic place will act as evidence to the residents of chiwororo ward 11, that surely she is after academic research and nothing else. Some relevant data might not be obtained from the respondents due to high illiteracy levels in that community, thus the researcher make use of interviews so as to reduce the problem of generalization.

1.8 Delimitations of the study The study will be limited to Mazowe District- Chiwororo ward 11 in Mashonaland Central province geographically. The research is also covering the period from 2010 to 2014. Conceptually, the research focuses on the effectiveness of development aid on peace building while other variables such as population density affects people’s livelihoods and these are outside the scope of the study. Population delimitation relates to all households of Mazowe District-ward 11 of Mashonaland Central province.

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1.9 Key definitions

AID CONDITIONALITY These are preconditions before aid is released which dictate how things should be done or how a certain project must be done.

Aid conditionality is another factor which may impact on aid efficacy (Collier et al: 1997). Svensson (2003) recommends a similar type of reform for aid conditionality, in which aid allocations would occur after economic reforms and based on actual performance, overcoming a strong bias in donor countries to distribute aid even when conditionality has not been met.

CONFLICT Conflict refers to a state of opposition, disagreement or the pursuit of incompatible goals or interests by different groups and is linked to struggle over scarce resources or values. Conflict may be characterized by physical, military or mental violence. They take place within a social structure and it involves the use of power to attain some goal and to neutralize resistance. Conflicts can be either violent or non-violent. In this study conflict means competition that has degenerated into violence when both parties try to prevent each other from attaining its goals by the use of force to inflict injury and the destruction of human life and the things that are vital and support human life. The violence involves acts that cause emotional and psychological injury.

DEVELOPMENT It is to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community (UNDP: 2002). It is also to improve the people’s quality of life through access to education and health care, employment opportunities, availability of clean water and clean air, absence of crime and having adequate food.

DEVELOPMENT AID This is a long term assistance that seeks to establish networks of development and its main orientation is the construction of social, economic, physical and human infrastructure for sustainable development (Todaro : 2002).

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FOOD SECURITY This is a situation whereby people have got right quantity and quality food at all times (Dembe et al 2012).

FOOD INSECURITY According to World Food Program (2009), this is a persistent inability to meet minimum food consumption requirements.

HUMANITARIAN AID It is assistance given as a response to emergency situations for example natural disasters, that is, floods, earthquakes, droughts and famines. It is primarily informed by the desire to save lives (UNDP, 2002). Humanitarian aid work is distinct from development work and the term refers to outside assistance for communities suffering from urgent crises such as natural disasters, conflicts, droughts or famines (Collier, P and Hoeffler, A: 2002).

LIVELIHOODS These are means of earning a living; source of income (2010 Women’s Refugee Commission).

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE (ODA) The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) defines ODA as resources transferred on occasional terms with promotion of economic development and welfare of developing countries as the main objective.

PEACE Peace is the absence of any form of harassment. It is the presence of justice, harmony and tranquility. Galtung J. (1996) divided peace into two, which is, positive and negative peace, that is covert or overt. Positive peace is achieved when there is elimination of structural and cultural violence. Negative peace is achieved by the elimination of direct violence. When peace is open and there is no form of violence it is meant to be overt. Covert peace is when there is reflection of peace but with hidden violence underneath.

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POVERTY Poverty is a complex, multifaceted and multidimensional concept. Poverty as explained by Rajasekhar (2004) is not a static phenomenon, and it changes over time, it changes across the regions, changes within individual economic groups and at various economic levels within a country, including at household level where there would be considerable difference in the perceptions of women and men. Chronic poverty is said to be occurring when an individual experiences significant capability deprivations for a period of five years or more; its distinguishing feature is its extended duration Hulme and Shepherd (2003) as cited in (Velasquez 2007).The chronically poor are those whose income levels continually remain below a given poverty line, defined by minimum consumption standards, they suffer from acute deprivation.

POVERTY REDUCTION Poverty reduction according to Greenberg (2005) is any process which seeks to ease the level of poverty in a community, or amongst a group of people or countries. Riddel and Robinson (1992:12), defines poverty alleviation as ‘An intervention aimed at a sustained improvement in the economic status of the poor, by raising incomes and creating new opportunities for employment, which in turn bring about increased consumption, savings and investment’.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT This is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development is a fluid concept that came to the forefront late in the development discourse, especially in the work of L. R Brown and the Brundtland Report (1987) which defined it as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs”.

1.10 Summary This chapter covered the scope of the study by providing foundation of the research study. It established the research topic, the purpose and main objectives of the current study, assumptions, significance, possible limitations as well as delimitations of the study. The following chapter, Chapter 2, will look into literature review of the topic under study, it will seek to identify, interpret and evaluate relevant literature and citations and what other researchers and writers identified as causes, types and effects.

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CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction This chapter will look at the review of literature relevant to the topic under study. This review seek to establish the theoretical, empirical and conceptual evidence from appropriate books, internet journals, newspapers and reports in order to find the true fact and points of correction on the background information of the research topic. This review will assist in taking note of the knowledge gaps in the area of study as well as come up with a conceptual framework. It will also help establish the relationships between existing theories, the degree to which the existing theories have been investigated, as well as recent activities of development aid actions that are lessening poverty rates in other countries.

2.1 Theoretical framework The study depends on the dependency theory. This theoretical framework provides the research with a basis for comparing the various approaches giving strengths to the study of the effectiveness of development aid on poverty reduction.

Development can be defined in many ways but refers broadly to social, economic, and political processes which unlock expanded human capabilities and reduce vulnerability in society. At the heart of both development and peace building process is the need to strengthen resilience and the capacity within society to manage change and resolve differences. Bustelo and Aguirre (2008) noted that, peace building becomes more effective if it permeates all areas of the states’ external action and that is trade, defense and immigration among others.

2.1.1 Dependency theory This theory became popular in the 1960s as a response to research by Raul Prebisch. He stressed that increases in the wealth of the richer nation appeared to be the expense of the poorer ones. Walter Rodney and Andre Gondar Frank are the key proponents of the dependency theory. The agenda is largely defined by the core and is done by the major aid agencies for example USAID and DFID. There are explicit mechanisms by the developed world to create a perpetual if not perennial cycle of dependency among so called developed countries. This is achieved through neo-colonial institutions like multinational companies as well as through the provision of what can be termed as ‘tied aid’ or conditional aid. As a

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result African or developing countries will find it difficult to break the ties, the more they try the more unstable they became because the system will not allow them to stand on their own.

According to Rodney (1972), from the last years of the nineteenth century, up to the 1960s, Africa was the major supplier of underpriced raw materials to Europe and buyer of overpriced manufactured goods from the West. At national level, the metropolis areas (urban) grew at the expense of rural communities. The pertinent question to ask at the level of Zimbabwe is why should the Shurugwi Rural District be poor while at the same time being rich in minerals? Why should Chiredzi District be poor while producing so much sugar? The same question can be raised for the following districts in Zimbabwe; Zvishavane, Kadoma and many more districts. At continental level one may be interested in finding out why Zambia, Angola, Botswana, the DRC, Libya and many more nations in Africa are poor given their richness in natural resources. Seemingly, the impoverishing dependency relationship is maintained through the promulgation of development initiatives that are deeply alien but chanted as in the interest of Africa. The dependency theory operates both in sovereign and colonial states. The only difference is that in the later, the theory was applied with harsh measures than one expects in the former state. It is also necessary to point out that due to corruption and bad governance, the dependency theory may be applied ruthlessly even in a sovereign state.

Dependency theory is the way that the state of an economy develops as a direct result of external forces. The dependent state relies on the dominant state for exportation and importation of goods and services. In its extreme form, it is based on a Marxist view of the world, which sees globalization in terms of the spread of the market capitalism, and the exploitation of cheap labor and resources in return for the absolute technologies of the west. The dominant view of dependency theorists is that there is a dominant world capitalist system that relies on a division of labor between the rich “core” countries and the poor “peripheral” countries. Overtime, the core countries will exploit their dominance over an increasingly marginalized periphery. The view is correct since Zimbabwean raw materials are ever being exported to developed nations as it lacks technological instruments for the processing of goods into semi-finished and finished goods. This scenario leads to dependency syndrome by developing nations like Zimbabwe as they over rely on assistances from developed nations who in turn pose sanctions to them whenever they resist their policies. This leads to underdevelopment in developing countries taking Rodney’s definition of development. He

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defined development as a land sided process and at the level of an individual it implies increased skill capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline and responsibility. Dependency theory advocated an inward looking approach to development and an increased role for the state in terms of imposing barriers to trade, making inward investment difficult and promoting nationalization of key industries. Official development assistance is therefore a tool to promote the political and economic interests of donor countries by enabling them to influence, reward or punish other countries (Charnoz and Severino 2007). Aid is to be used as a tool against poverty and to promote human rights. Goodhand (2006), is of the view that the humanitarian ethic, values, all this human richness and so, is equally concerned with saving life and protecting the fullness of what their jargon calls “the whole human person”. Thus preferences will vary from state to state, depending on factors such as culture, economic or security (“high politics”), but also economic or cultural (“low politics”) whether through commercial firms, organizations or individuals.

According to the dependency thinkers, aid was built as an instrument of domination and exploitation. It benefited the privileged elites in the south as well as in donor countries. Mbanje and Mahuku (2011) opines that aid that undermine the continent’s capacity and sense of ownership of policies and programmes cannot support sustainable growth, it perpetuates dependency. Aid is mostly routinely manipulated and subjected to corruption and political favoritism (Goodhand, 2002). Thus the infusion of assistance also has the ability to potentially exacerbate underlying social tensions if it is perceived to be biased in the manner in which it is distributed or causes conflict over its distribution or other resources. Looking at the past studies, the researcher has noted that Mbanje and Mahuku (2011) as well as Goodhand (2002) seem to have focused much on aid conditionality and politicization of aid and there is paucity of literature on the issues relating to socio-economic threats being faced by aid beneficiaries in accessing aid services.

Active involvement of civil society in official development assistance and peace building processes is a key challenge facing donors. However, it can be effectively addressed through the development of consultative mechanisms and processes, selected funding opportunities and capacity building. Questions of aid’s effectiveness are not merely limited to its direct intended effect: to improve the health and well-being of those threatened by crisis. The debate on how aid affects environments more broadly is a question of the unintended

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consequences of aid. Both types of effects, however, are relatively understudied, particularly from a quantitative perspective.

2.2Role of development aid organization Development assistance organizations include religious groups, private foundations and charities, research organizations and federations of dedicated doctors, nurses, agricultural scientists, economists and engineers. Todaro et al (2003) defines development aid organizations as voluntary organizations that work with or on behalf of mostly local people’s organizations in developing countries. Goodhand (2003), development assistance represents specific local and international groups with concerns as diverse as providing emergency relief and protecting child health, promoting women’s rights, alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, increasing food production and providing credit to small farmers and local businesses. Development aid organizations build schools, roads and hospitals. Many development assistance organizations work directly on grassroots rural development projects, other focuses on relief efforts for starving and displaced people. Some familiar aid organizations include CARE, Oxfam, Planned Parenthood, World Vision, Save the Children, World Wildlife Fund, and Habitat for Humanity, The Ford Foundations, Christian Care, Christian Aid, and Project HOPE and Amnesty International.

From the supply side development aid organizations provides various public services to the poor and in demand side aid organizations play an indirect role that is they demand for services. ‘‘The world’s poor know about the development ladder; they are tormented by images of prosperity from half way around the world, but they are not able to get the first foothold on the ladder, and so cannot even began to climb out of poverty and instability” (Sachs, 2005:19-20). In helping the poor climb out of poverty development aid intervention organization use two approaches the supply side and the demand side (Clark, 1995).

Todaro et al (2003), also claim that the great value of development aid organizations is dual. Firstly, being less constrained by political imperatives and motivated largely by humanitarian ideas, most development aid organizations are able to work much more effectively at local levels with the very people that are trying to assist than massive bilateral and multilateral aid programs. Moreover, by working directly with local people’s organizations, many development aid assistance organizations are able to avoid the suspicion and cynicism on the part of the mostly poor people that they serve that help is less than sincere or likely to be

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short lived. On the researcher’s opinion, this stated assertion might be overridden if participation of all age groups in development projects is implemented regardless of differences in race, gender or cultures.

2.2.1 Factors influencing dependency syndrome in households Humanitarian and development assistance are contributing to the dependency syndrome particularly in rural population through civil societies like Zim-AIED (Zimbabwe Agriculture, Income and Employment Development) which are providing development aid to rural areas.

Development assistance in Africa has tended to supplant local capacity, undermine local knowledge and institutions. Recipient countries have been made more vulnerable and dependent on aid. Western aid projects, plans and programs should be driven from Africa’s development and cultural priorities and should not be an expression of an attitude by these donors that they know better, they lecture and Africa listens, they know and recipient countries learn and they take care of things because Africans cannot. Aid that undermines the continent’s capacity and sense of ownership of policies and programs cannot support sustainable growth. It perpetuates dependence (Mbanje and Mahuku 2011). Lappe (1998), condemn food aid because a common form of project food aid- the provision of food for work does not help the hungry or build self-reliance.

2.2.2Education, development aid and poverty reduction According to the World Bank (1995), 29% of the heads of the poor households and 32% of the very poor households had no formal education. The more educated the households are, the more likely it is for his/her family to attend school. Lack of education is a strong predictor of decreased general well- being of households, poor food consumption and limited resilience to shocks. The more schooling a household head has had during his or her life, the lower the probability of the household; the more likely it is for his children to attend school. Educational attainment by the household head could lead to awareness of the possible advantages of globalizing agriculture by means of technological inputs; enable them to read instructions on fertilizer packs, chemical instructions and diversification of household incomes which in turn would enhance household’s food supply.

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2.2.3Household size, age and development In Zimbabwe the majority of farm households are small scale semi-subsistence producers with limited participation in non-agricultural activities. Land and finance to purchase inputs are very limited, thus increasing family size according to the literature tends to exert more pressure on consumption than labor it contributes to production. Therefore, a negative correlation between household size and productivity is expected as development requirements increase in relation to the number of persons in the households. Thus, it is clear that household size is another factor expected to have influence on reducing poverty rates of households. Selection of beneficiaries is also essential in development programs; youth are the active group that wages conflicts as well as promoting peace if they are empowered or neglected from empowerment so there is great need of including them in development projects.

2.2.4Source of income in rural areas/rural development Agriculture is the most frequent source of income for rural households but not the largest. Almost all household in rural areas and over half in urban areas receive their income from farming in 1991 (Jenkins, 1995). Rural cash income comes from crop and non-crop sources and this shows that rural households in all income groups have more sources of cash income than their urban counter parts that rely on formal employment.

World Bank (1995) is of the view that remittance income is substantial especially in rural areas; remittances from family members are a crucial source of income for many households particularly in rural areas. Around 80% of rural households reported receiving some income allowances in 1991 and this source accounted for 22% of the cash income of all rural households. For poor and very poor households in rural areas, the share of allowances in overall household cash income was 30% (World Bank, 1995). Female headed households also relied on endowments and in 1990/91 they depended on money sent from family members more than 40% of cash income, so much that the share of poor rural households who were female headed was less than the share of all rural households who were female headed.

Kassa, Gibbon and Singh (2002), are of the view that livestock contribute to household’s economy in different ways for example as a source of pulling power, source of cash income,

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source of supplementary feed and means of transport. This shows that a household’s wealth status forms other important source of livelihoods for farming households. Livestock provides not only food for producers, but also range of other products which could be sold or consumed by livestock owner to provide nutrition, income, fuel and traction. The major products of livestock include meat, milk, eggs, manure, feathers, fiber, draught power, hides and horns. Furthermore, these products livestock serve as an asset and may provide reserve that can be converted to cash in times of need. Besides, livestock are considered as means of security and coping during crop failure and other calamities. In his study Kassa et al (2002) found that households who own livestock have good food security status, income generating source as well as sustainable development. In view of this, an inventory of livestock for the households in Mazowe District was conducted.

2.3 Sustainable development Good governance and respect for fundamental human rights and basic freedoms are prerequisites for sustainable human development. In Zimbabwe, governance priorities relate to the development challenge of building and enhancing capacity in the provision of public services and the dispensation of justice. The achievement of these goals is inextricably correlated to the realization of fundamental rights and freedoms, conflict prevention and management, and ensuring the security of persons. As projects begin to wind down, the issue of sustainability is in the forefront. Sustainability, being able to continue past the end of the project based on increased knowledge and agricultural approaches gained by the farmers, is acknowledged by beneficiaries and implementing partners. The beneficiaries especially noted those methods introduced by Zim-AIED as a role model. From the perspective of the beneficiaries, many are of the view that they can be able to continue their activities without support from the project. Strengthening the sector’s systems, as introduced by the projects, is one of the most important indicators for measuring sustainability.

2.3.1 Regional, Demographic and Cultural Factors The root of poverty appears to be often region specific. Developing countries often suffer more extensively from acute environmental degradation and natural disasters, with which they are inadequately equipped to cope. These are important contributing factors for many households, in particular the most disadvantaged stratum of the population, to be trapped in harsh poverty.

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In general, poor people rely on basic agricultural products and natural resources, such as public water and firewood for cooking, to meet and maintain their daily household needs. Thus, the depletion of forests and the contamination of water due to environmental degradation pose an immediate and disproportionate threat to the livelihood of the poor who are more exposed to hazardous sites and live mostly in countries with lack of environmental regulation (Forsyth et al. 1998). Another important source of poverty is the occurrence of natural disasters. For example, the recent Indian Ocean tsunami devastated many areas of South-East Asia and took the lives of around 300,000 people. Millions of individuals, especially the poor in those areas, were deprived from access to food, water and shelter. Houses, school and transportation system were destroyed. Due to lack of access to information to pre and post-disaster protection resources, the most vulnerable groups of the population, which in developing countries tend to be women and children, are also likely to be the most affected. These conditions tend to deepen the impact of natural disasters by disproportionately harming the most vital population groups that are likely to contribute to long-term development. Moreover, the added menace of malaria infestation, intestinal parasites, and other diseases in the aftermath of disasters also contribute to worsen the overall condition of the poor. Indeed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), over one- third of Africa's malaria deaths are due to natural disasters and conflicts (Greenwood 1999). The high prevalence of poverty in developing countries is attributable in part to the demographic trap. Impoverished families with many children often cannot afford to invest consistently in the care of each child in terms of nutrition, health and education.

They may only be able to afford to send one child, usually one son to school. As result, girls stay at home or work in the fields and are thus denied access to education, even when these services are available. Cultural values about the relative worth of females and males lead families to invest the scarce resources available on males rather than females. For instance, in societies where sons bring their new spouses to live with the family after marriage, and daughters move away to live with their husbands, sons often receive a disproportionate amount of the family resources, reflecting the fact that sons will contribute more to the preservation of the family tradition than daughters. Therefore, as is often the case, measurements based on the assumption that family members have equal access to resources, including income, can be misleading. Recently, in order to address the gender inequality issue, the UNDP has created two measures that focus specifically on how poverty may affect women and men differently within countries: The Gender-Related Development Index (GDI),

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which compares women's and men's well-being, and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), which measures women's participation in each country's political and economic systems (UNDP 1997). Therefore, it is seen that gender inequalities are a threat to poverty reduction and sustainable development.

2.3.2 Institutional and Socio-economic Factors Poor governance practices as manifested by the presence of corruption and the lack of rule of law and government accountability tend to be detrimental to the material and social conditions of the poor because of their lack of private alternatives and their vulnerability to abusive power. Indirectly, corruption inhibits development because leaders misuse the limited available resources that could otherwise be used for development projects to reduce poverty. As part of corrupt systems lacking accountability, leaders may provide services and reward exclusively their political supporters, which in turn may lead to social instability due to rebellion and internal conflicts. The material and human destruction caused by warfare is a major source of poverty (Treisman 2000a cited in UNDP 2005). Finally, lack of employment opportunities is generally identified as a major source of poverty, and the long term poor tend to be unskilled and vulnerable to any small shock to the market economy (World Bank 2001). More recently, the phenomenon of jobless economic growth that increases income inequalities and generates too few jobs for low income groups poses a new serious threat to addressing the issue of poverty and self-sustenance in many countries (UNDP 1990 and 1997).

2.4 The impact of development assistance on Poverty alleviation or reduction At present, there are no official data on poverty rates in Zimbabwe. However, in 2010, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported that around 78 percent of the population was poor and 55 percent lived below the food poverty line. People living below the food poverty line are those who cannot meet any of their basic needs and suffer from chronic hunger. According to UNICEF, an estimated 6.6 million people (including 3.5 million children) in Zimbabwe suffer from this extreme form of deprivation.

The effects of development assistance like any other aids are weighed down with disagreements. On one side are the traditionalists, who argue that the development assistance indeed promotes growth and structural transformation in many less developed countries (LDCs). On my own view both developing and developed countries contribute to each other’s growth and sustenance. Goodhand (2003), notes that development aid organizations provides

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funds for extension services to disseminate practical information related to agriculture, including correct use of improved seeds, fertilizers, tools, tillage practices, water management, livestock management and welfare, marketing techniques and basic business skills to address poverty. Extension is also an essential pillar for rural community progress including support for the organizational capacity of farmers’ groups and the formation of cooperatives, which implies collectivism to support oneness and promote higher level productivity. Todaro (2003), notes that since agriculture is a knowledge intensive sector, development aid organizations provides farmers with access to training, extension services and sharing of traditional knowledge that encourage the production of abundant and nutritious crops and mixed diets. Knowledge helps farmers to adopt practices that maximize the efficiency of the inputs they use and help protect natural resources they depend on. Current training programmes being funded by these organizations like FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) are now involving women farmers in developing countries as essential ‘gatekeepers’ for household nutrition and welfare. Providing this education to rural communities in a systematic, participatory manner is essential to improving their production, income and quality of life in terms of poverty reduction.

Development as one of the objectives of development agents has gained more attention from both developing and developed worlds. Billions of dollars are donated every year to fight against poverty so that development can be achieved, but little is achieved. “Poverty reduction” is often used as a short-hand for promoting economic growth that will permanently lift as many people as possible over a poverty line. But there are many different objectives that are consistent with “poverty reduction,” and we have to make choices between them. There are trade-offs between tackling current and future poverty, between helping as many poor people as possible and focusing on those in chronic poverty, and between measures that tackle the causes of poverty and those which deal with the symptoms. Because donors focus on just one dimension of poverty reduction (growth) they marginalize other legitimate objectives such as reducing chronic poverty or providing social services in countries that cannot otherwise afford them.

Increased levels of poverty and the heavy burden of HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe, coupled with a serious decline in the social protection system, mean that vulnerable households’ access to health, education, nutrition and general wellbeing are being compromised. High HIV and AIDS prevalence has led to decreasing life expectancy, has orphaned 25 percent of

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all children in Zimbabwe, and has resulted in a growing number of ‘generation gap’ households in which grandparents look after children following the loss of the intermediary generation(Zimbabwe Central Statistics Office 2012).Employment based social protection mechanisms such as private and public pension schemes, medical aid and insurance schemes have been weakened by the effects of hyperinflation and severely limited employment opportunities. Zimbabwe’s current challenges are compounded by the lack of a comprehensive and overarching social protection policy framework.

As shown in the 2010 Country Analysis Report and the 2010 MDG Status Report, poverty in Zimbabwe has worsened the human development index, the human poverty index and the food security situation, making it difficult for the country to achieve MDG 1 on eradication of hunger and extreme poverty by the year 2015. As the Millennium Development Goals emanate from the Millennium Declaration, ensuring good governance and the centrality of human rights is intimately tied to the achievement of all the MDGs. The ZUNDAF (Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework) outcomes will contribute jointly to building a socially, politically and economically stable environment, one that is conducive to sustained peace, democratic space and equitable growth. Political and institutional structures and processes will therefore constitute the core focus of governance and human rights support. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Millennium Declaration, which recognizes the central importance of good governance in creating an environment that is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty. Thus, the Government of Zimbabwe and United Nations Country Team agreed to emphasize governance and human rights issues in the ZUNDAF in order to promote economic recovery in the short term as well as sustainable and equitable human development in the long term.

2.5Summary This section looked at the literature review related to the impacts of development aid on poverty reduction, highlighted the issues relating to the impact of those variables on the rural life fabric. The chapter looked into literature review of the topic under study as well as sought to identify, interpret and evaluate relevant literature and citations and what other researchers and writers identified as causes, types and effects. The next section focused on the research methodology in the form of research design, method of collecting data and also data presentation.

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CHAPTER 3- METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction This chapter will explain how the research will be conducted and will give a clear description and justification of the research design adopted, the target population on which the study will be focusing on and the sampling procedures that will be employed. The chapter will also explains the research instruments used to gather various types of data and also look at the ways and procedures to be used by the researcher in the collection of data from the target respondents. A brief outline of the data collection procedures and analysis will also be given as well as a summary of the chapter which concludes the section.

3.1Research Design According to Shumba (2004) research design is a systematic strategy and plan for selecting, rationalizing, and organizing the sequence of procedures for collecting and handling the evidence on the basis of the research questions or the research problem which are to be answered or solved. The researcher made use of a case study research design in a descriptive manner as it enables one to use a theoretical or judgmental sampling in the sampling of cases and also has high construct validity; one is able to have an in-depth insight of issues under investigation and the ability to establish rapport with research subjects (Mouton 2001:149). It allows investigators to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of realistic trends. Its unique strength is its ability to deal with a full variety of sources, interviews, documents and observations among others.

3.1.1Research Instruments For the purpose of this research, the researcher employed a case study research design whereby questionnaire forms and interview guides have been used to collect primary information from the respondents. Sources of data can be divided into primary and secondary sources. A total of three questionnaire forms have been distributed to key informants. Interviews were also used to collect data from fifty seven respondents from Chiwororo ward 11.

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3.1.2 Interviews Interviews have been used as they enable respondents to say out more information in a friendly environment, thus enabling the researcher to get detailed and confidential data vital for the research, Best and Khan, (2003).They also give the researcher room to re-phrase or clarify further the questions when the respondents did not fully understand the questions. The researcher addressed the problem through designing short questionnaires and encouraging immediate responses from respondents so that the exercise could not take much of the researcher’s time. According to Saunders et al (2003) a questionnaire is a technique of data collection in which each person is asked to respond to the same set of questions in a predetermined order. It is suitable in this study as the absence of the researcher eliminates bias on the part of the respondent and is also inexpensive to administer, it saves time and facilitates the obtaining of honest and accurate responses where sensitive questions are asked.

3.1.3 Primary sources In primary research data is collected specifically for the study at hand. Primary sources here include public hearings, trials, interviews, questionnaires and personal observations. For the purpose of this study interviews and questionnaires have been used in obtaining primary data.

3.1.4 Secondary sources This data is at least one step removed from an event or body of primary source material and may include an interpretation, analysis, synthetic claims about the subject. Secondary sources may draw on primary sources and other secondary sources to create a general overview or to make analytic or synthetic claims. The researcher will make use of various online journals, government publications and textbooks. Some of the literature reviewed will be obtained from textbooks and journals. However, many development aid journals will be focusing on large global development assistance organizations and because of that there might be limited information on aid practices by NGOs at national level, particularly in Zimbabwe. Most information will be obtained online from electronic books and electronic journals through the use of internet as internet provides the researcher with up-to-date information.

3.2 Target population According to Saunders (2003), a population is any group of individuals that have one or more characteristics in common that are of interest to the researcher. Bogdan and Biklen (2005) are

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of the view that a target population is a population which the researcher intends to draw his sample from. The determination of what constitutes the research population is of paramount significance from the onset. The target population in the study consists of six hundred households who are both of the age between 20 to 80 years as well as beneficiaries of Zim- AIED assistance from the 19 villages of Chiwororo ward 11 and three ZIM-AIED agencies.

3.3Sample and sample size The selected proportion from a population constitutes what is called a sample and sampling simply means the process of selecting a sample (Chimedza 2003). Sample size refers to the number of items to be selected from universe to constitute a sample, Kothari (2004). It is also the selection of a people. Kothari (2004), states that sampling is the process of selecting a representative subset of observations from a population to determine the characteristics of the random variable under study. Dahlberg and McCaig (eds.) (2010) outlined essentials of sampling to ensure that the sample that is drawn represent the population. One of the factors is to examine how similar or dissimilar is the population, the more alike the elements of a population, the smaller the sample can be and still be representative. One is confident that a sample is representative if one has carefully defined a population. The sample size refers to the number of elements in a sample. According to Neuman (2009), there are no hard and fast rules in determining sample sizes. Instead, the researcher must consider the research purpose, the design, and the size of the population. The question of sample size determination varies, thus different formulae exist, and however, the guiding principles are that the larger the population the smaller the sampling ratio has to be. The bigger the sample the more accurate the results would be. A total of sixty respondents have been selected out of the targeted population of 600 people. The sample size has been arrived at through the use of a formula to ensure that there is no bias in the sample selection. This is as shown below:-

The total number of targeted population(N) x sample fraction (n) 100

This will be 600 x 10% 100 Which is 60 and therefore the sample size will be 60 respondents.

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3.3.1Sampling techniques Donnell (1981:25), states that sampling procedures are pertinent strategies constituting sampling techniques. Simple random sampling will be used. The researcher used purposive sampling method to get information from particular people in various ministries and experts like known individuals with knowledge on the issues under study. Simple random sampling involves randomly selecting individual units from a sampling frame giving all units an equal chance of being selected (David and Satton: 2004). The probability of a member of the population being selected is not affected by the selection of other members of the population and that is each selection is entirely independent of the next (Cohen: 2007). 57 respondents have been selected using simple random sampling.

The key informants were selected using purposive sampling technique. The selected 3 key informants are agents of Zim-AIED; therefore they tend to be well informed on development assistance progresses, so they become good sources of data.

3.4Data collection procedures The researcher sought permission from the management and appointments were made with them regarding the conduct with aid beneficiaries and aid agencies pertaining the issuing of questionnaires, documentations as well as conducting interviews. She made use of the time during village based meetings and project based meetings for data collection. According to Saunders et. al (2003), ethics refers to the appropriateness of behavior in relation to the rights of those who became the subjects of the work or are affected by it. As each community has its norms, values and ethics, the researcher faced resistance on acquiring data in Mazowe District as some of the participants were not familiar to her. So as to overcome the threat, the researcher met the elders of the area before doing her research, for example meeting the District Administrator and ward councilor of the area. She also carried with her a reference letter from her academic institution so as to avoid that victimization. Anonymity where possible had also guided this research. Some respondents were not eager to disclose their status. Thus, the researcher had to abide by this ethic for different implications this particular research may pose to the respondents. Confidentiality also guided the researcher. The principle entails that the information obtained from the respondents will not be disclosed to anyone else without their knowledge as this may have detrimental effects to them. A pilot testing was done before carrying out interviews and issuing of inquiry forms to determine the

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validity as noted by Brick and Wood in Samuel (2008) and to pre-test the research questions which offer the mandatory information to the study.

3.5Data presentation and analysis procedures This particular research used qualitative data which is of much relevance to the study. It was, therefore, noted that after gathering the data there was a great need to present the findings. Thus, this research adopted the use of exploratory qualitative paradigm in analyzing data. The method was then supported with evidence from the raw data presented as direct quotations and paraphrases from the data collection methods.

As soon as the data had been presented, the researcher faced the task of analyzing it. Gall et al (1996) noted that there are three approaches to case data analysis. These include interpretational, structural and reflective analysis. The researcher endeavor to be rigorous in terms of being judgmental in her analysis of the findings emerging from patterns, trends and themes.

3.6 Summary The chapter looked at the research methodology intended to be employed by the researcher in enquiring the information required from the respondents. The research design, target population, sampling procedures, data collection procedures, data presentation and analysis procedures and research instruments such as questionnaire forms and interview guides were also taken note of. The research ethics will guide the behavior of the researcher during the course of gathering data in the field and the process after. The next chapter is going to present and analyze data which was obtained from the questionnaires and interviews.

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CHAPTER 4: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

4.0 Introduction This chapter will present data collected from respondents using Focus Group Discussions interviews and key informant questionnaires to enable analysis to be done. Responses from Zim-AIED beneficiaries and its agents will be narrated and discussed in line with research questions. In some instances, the researcher will make use of tables to enable a clear vision of data collected at some point.

4.1Presentation of demographic data

Table 4.1: Response rate Category Proposed Actual response rate Percentage Response Rate Community 57 51 89% Management 3 3 100% Total 60 54 90% Source: Raw data

Table 4.1 shows that 90% (54 out of 60) of the population participated in the study and 10% (6 out of 60) did not participate. The reason would be that most of them were busy with their daily business. The researcher also discover that some did understand the interviews because they were illiterate hence the researcher interpreted the research guide to them in their understanding shona language.

4.2Support offered by Zim-AIED organization to small holder farmers

70% of the participants opined that capacity building, loan provision, farmer training in agronomy especially in food crops as well as market linkages is their main benefits, since the inception of Zim-AIED program in Chiwororo ward. Households noted that they have acquired knowledge and skills through participation in demonstration plots. (Todaro:2003), notes that since agriculture is a knowledge intensive sector, development aid organizations provide farmers with access to training, extension services and sharing of traditional knowledge that encourage the production of nutritious crops and mixed diets. The program is meant among others to provide relief particularly to the vulnerable members of the

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communities such as orphans, old people and widows, but in some instances some of the beneficiaries are fairly well to do. Thus, the funding finds its true meaning when it targets the poor and unfortunate ones.

4.2.1 Relationship between Zim-AIED projects with its beneficiaries given the current economic and operating environment

The Zim-AIED – farmer relations in Chiwororo ward is characterized by empowerment of farmers through provision of agricultural knowledge leading to increased food production and self-sustenance. Farmers are also organized into groups so that it becomes easier for them to access inputs and sell their produce with the help of the project facilitators even after the organization quit its operations. Farmers have been linked to companies such as windmill, pioneer seeds, SEEDCO, ZFC, NICO ONGO and it’s a continuous process. As farmers get inputs on credit, interests will be charged, thereby contributes to profits to those companies offering loans. Zim-AIED offers human needs to communities through food security which in turn creates employment to the society. Income sources have been improved through ‘SAT’ an income generating project. Through knowledge acquired in the projects, sustainable development is likely to prevail.

4.2.2 Formal training from Zim-AIED

65% of the households from Chiwororo ward confirmed to be receiving formal trainings from Zim-AIED and most of them are putting it to use. Training was mainly offered in areas like sustainable agriculture and livestock rearing. Respondents also believe that they have acquired knowledge through demonstration plots in terms of zero tillage, conservation farming and use of organic manure as natural fertilizer.

One of the farmers stressed that Zim-AIED has helped much in rural livelihood, “Chirongwa ichi chatibatsira zvikuru neruzivo rwangarusipo muruwa, zvekuti vanhu varimuchirongwa varikuguta,asi tapera misana nekuchera makomba nayo SAT iyi, panekuti tirimewo nenzira dzechimanje-manje” (the program has helped the society to a greater extent with knowledge on zero tillage and many households are now able to feed themselves adequately despite the fact that digging holes is tiresome). One of the male respondents stressed that, “Zero tillage inorwadza zvayo pakuchera makomba asi goho redu pahacter rakakura pane

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zvataisimbokohwa’’, (although zero tillage is tiresome to implement, higher outputs are being achieved. (Todaro: 2003), observed that development aid organizations provide funds for extension services to propagate practical information related to agriculture including correct use of improved seeds, fertilizers, tools, tillage practices, water management, livestock management and welfare, marketing techniques, and basic business skills to address poverty. Extension services programmes are also an essential pillar for rural community progress as they involve the provision of technical support for the organizational capacity of farmer groups and the formation of co-operatives.

4.2.3The impact of development aid by Zim-AIED on self-sustenance

The research established that participants generally view development assistance as having a positive impact on rural livelihoods. One respondent put forward the idea that,

Chirongwa chatipa shungu mwanangu, ticharamba tichishanda semushandiro iwowu wemumapoka chero chirongwa chapera nekuti zvatibatsira nyange nekuchikafu chaiko,takutodyawo chingwa chekusitoro chataisiziva chichidyiwa pakisimusi chete chatoita zvekubhukiswa, (the project has encouraged us a lot, we are going to go on with the project despite quitting of project implementers as we are now able to eat food staffs like bread which we had long known as food eaten only during Christmas times).

This is consistent with Goodhand (2003), who noted that development aid provides emergency relief, protecting child health, promoting women’s rights, alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, increasing food production and providing credit to small farmers and local businesses as this has been witnessed in Chiwororo ward as noted by the beneficiaries.

4.2.5 Strengths and weaknesses of development aid by Zim-AIED

4.2.5.1 Strengths During the economic crisis in Zimbabwe, women were often the principal farmers and have been able to benefit themselves with opportunities provided by the projects in ways not

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possible previously. USAID mainstreamed the agency’s gender policy resulting in women making significant gains. High value cash crops (Zim-AIED) have created secondary employment opportunities, in transportation of produce, and day labor work. Women have increased their incomes, women have access to assets and social relationships are changing as they have gained economic power. In this period, women were often the principal farmer, due to the male outmigration and may have been able to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by the projects in ways not possible previously. In spite of the fact that they signed into training courses under their husbands’ names, they were attending the training. As has been documented in other periods of crisis, opportunities for change are created for breaking with traditional behavior. With the conscious attention paid by USAID in putting the agency’s gender policy into practice through the programs, women in Zimbabwe have made significant gains and realized significant benefits in agriculture. The primary goal is to improve competitiveness in Zimbabwe’s agribusiness and agricultural sectors to attract private sector investment in agriculture.

Rebuilding Livelihoods & Resiliency in Zimbabwe Women have participated nearly equally in training and have increased their incomes and access to assets. Social relationships are changing as women gain economic power and their access to leadership positions in community and industry organizations has increased. Women continue to face barriers in accessing credit however. The loan disbursement rate for Zim-AIED’s AgriTrade facility shows that women are still relatively disadvantaged in terms of access to credit financing. Given the inexperience of the smallholder farmers and their need for basic and updated agricultural knowledge, capacity building and training was one of the most successful achievements of all the interventions. Training was incorporated into nearly all the activities and projects. Practical training, through approaches such as Zim-AIED’s demonstration plots and lead farmers, and Zim- ACP’s capacity building work with farmers’ associations, was instrumental in changing farmers’ behavior and attitudes towards farming as a business. Training of non-farm actors throughout the value chains is a success, at the individual, association, to the national level. “Farming as a Business” was a fundamental concept taught in all projects, overcoming the donor dependency attitude that had arisen. A large portion of the training was provided by a private institution; Sustainable Agricultural Technology (SAT) as part of a subcontract under Zim-AIED. However, the training was not supported systemically by a GOZ (Government of Zimbabwe) institution. In order to ensure training programs are sustained when the project ends, ZIM-AIED should ensure that all the training

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modules are properly documented and archived with USAID in order to facilitate moving the training to local institutions. The Agri-Trade facility has established a model for linking commercial banks to the smallholder farmers, primarily to new borrowers, and has begun to establish the trust and confidence of both borrowers and lenders. The linkages being built among the respective stakeholders in the value chain, from supply of inputs, through access to markets, are in place and sustained by the continuous training provided by the project, but however, weaknesses continue to exist.

4.2.5.2Weaknesses Some critics argue that development assistance instead of promoting growth, in fact retard it. The argument is that development aid is largely appropriated by corrupt bureaucrat’s suppression initiatives and stimulates welfare of mentality on the part of the recipients (Rodney: 1972). One of the respondents asserted that,

Nyaya yavo yekuti kwakaita zuva vanongoda mari dzavo, ndiyo imwe yakutipa kudzoka kumashure muchirongwa, uyezve mumwechete akatadza kubhadhara chikwereti vanongotora pfuma yecheromunhu ari muchikwata ichocho. Izvi zviri kukonzera kusabatana mukati medu sevarimi, kana totaura zvedu isu, tinenge takuti Zim-AIED iyi yakauya kuzotipesanisa magariro edu futi, (integration is being hampered by the conditions of the Zim-AIED program whereby they do not consider weather changes in repayment of their loans as well as taking any member of the group’s assets if one of them fails to repay his credit).

This is a weakness that mostly development assistance organization interventions are widely known to possess and the study seeks to assess if the same problems could be identified with development assistance organization interventions in Mazowe District.

More so, if development aid organizations’ assistance in human security and livelihoods needs to tackle the problems head on; it is no longer adequate to argue that the poor will be helped by concentrating exclusively on growth oriented policies. The criticism is frequently made that, while some aid does not indeed help some poor groups; it commonly fails to assist the poorest groups in the society. Gaps in implementation were identified, such as delayed delivery of inputs in both phases, uneven performance of sub-partners and relatively inexperienced support service personnel. Women have been adequately incorporated into

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and are deriving real benefits from portfolio activities. All partners introduced activities to address gender issues and established monitoring and evaluation systems which tracked results disaggregated by men and women.

The loan disbursement rate for Zim-AIED’s AgriTrade facility shows that women are still relatively disadvantaged in terms of access to credit financing. The intervention of Zim-AIED in the agricultural sector led to increasing local and national production of maize, groundnuts, and root crops at competitive prices. Farmers consistently reported delays in placement of inputs which had a negative impact on achieving these objectives, most importantly production. Late inputs led to low yields and/or lower prices. While the farmers collecting the fruit have marginally increased their household income and report improved food security as a result, their livelihood from this endeavor depends solely upon one buyer.

Gaps in implementation were present. Inputs were late from actors supported by the project (agro dealers as well as project implementers), some sub-partners’ participation was uneven, and support service providers were relatively inexperienced. Specific issues were identified by project. Many investments, particularly the banana plantations, for example, were not insured against loss. In the dairy project, support for the dairy farmers was uneven, with some farmers reporting excellent service and others reporting problems with the quality of the cows. Further, the insurance program was weak, as companies did not pay the farmers when livestock died. Some sub-partners continued to be weak, such as agro dealers who did not continue serving smallholder farmers after they received project loans from banks. The partners are critical to sustainability which is highly dependent on the selection of partners who can deliver the services to which they have committed.

Agritex extension workers, including Para-vets, who are part of the government’s service delivery system for farmers and partners, were relatively inexperienced in real world farming operations. Zim-AIED provided well experienced extension workers who were positive partners with the Agritex extension agents at the local level. Their cooperation was based on relationships built by IPs (Implementing Partners), not through a formal institutional relationship with the GOZ.

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4.2.6 Benefits from development assistance Project food aid is primarily given on a grant basis as support for specific social and economic development projects (e.g., food-for-work programs (FFW), and food for education programs). It could be given to a recipient government, a multilateral development agency or to domestic and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). About 1\3 of the study’s respondents expressed that they are being satisfied by the achievements of Zim- AIED. One of them expressed that, “Takugarawo mudzimba dzemarata uye tatovewo nezvipfuwo kubva ‘mutimbaugute iyoyi”(zero tillage of digging holes) (we are now happy that we are now living in asbestos buildings as well owning livestock through sales from the produces from zero tillage). Another respondent stressed that, “chirongwa chabatsira zvizhinji kunherera, chirikadzi, varwere nevanotambura. Chikafu chekuti varwere vadye chavapo, mari yevana vechikoro yavapo, uyezve ngoro dzekutakurisa varwere kuenda kuchipatara nemombe dzacho tavanadzowo” (the program has helped orphans, widows and the ill people, food for the ill, school fees, beasts and scotch carts to carry them to the hospital are now available).

4.2.7 Challenges to both Zim-AIED and its beneficiaries regarding development assistance programmes and suggestions regarding development partner’s activities One major challenge raised by beneficiaries is that of lack of integration between them especially on the issue of attending demonstration plot trainings. Beneficiaries reside in different villages and had to meet at one demonstration plot, thus, due to lack of transport some recipients could not manage to attend, hence, a small number would work in the demonstrations field, thus leaving trails of hatred between those working and those not. One of Chiwororo Ward 11 residents expressed that, “Hazvisi kutifadza kuti isu ndisu tinoshanda mumademonstration plots asi hapana chatinopihwa isu tichitosiya mabasa edu mudzimba ,asina kushanda nekuti munda ndewake ndiye odya zvake nemadhumeni ivava, (it is frustrating us that we work in the demonstration plots for no rewards but the outputs from the plots benefit the owner of the field and the Agricultural Extension Officers who do not work in those plots).

There are also allegations of widespread politicization of aid by Zim-AIED and this can be attributed to the fact that development partners are regarded as western driven projects with a hidden agenda for regime change by ZANU-PF. Mazowe District is a strong hold of ZANU-

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PF. According to realism, aid as a foreign policy instrument is guided by self-interests, whereby donors consent to provide aid , in order to enhance influence, to broaden their access to markets and to promote the interests of their ruling class (Jacquet: 2006). Development assistance is therefore a tool to promote the political and economic interests of donor countries by enabling them to “influence, reward or punish other countries” (Charnoz and Severino: 2007, 37). This is further supported by neo Marxists who assert that development assistance is above all an instrument through which industrialized countries seek to dominate poor countries. The argument is that development assistance is largely appropriated by corrupt bureaucrats’ oppressiveness of proposals.

Moreover, some beneficiaries noted that development aid created dependency syndrome and this is supported by the dependency theory which opposes development assistance as projects which promotes laziness and households depends on it. To other critics like neo-Marxists, aid has contributed to establishing a relationship of dependence of poor countries on the West. This could be a danger if the development partners withdrew their aid especially due to political constraints between the donors and the government. The management system complained on the issue of higher taxation of civil societies thereby requesting the government to assist by protecting their private companies through reducing taxation rates. It also complained that some farmers fail to repay loans which hinder progress and they noted that some farmers fail to apply the knowledge given, thereby reducing productivity. The management suggested that higher commitment fees should be charged so that only serious farmers will join and constant supervision should be done so that the principles of the organization are followed. However, with the evidence from beneficiary respondents, Zim- AIED offered formal training which perpetuated to self-sustenance as well as continuity despite program ending.

4.3 Secondary data

4.3.1Assessment on regional peace and development services provided by Zim- AIED Capacity building and training was one of the most successful achievements of the portfolio in both Phase I and Phase II of USAID (United States Agency for International Development). Training was provided at all levels, to individual farmers, association members, and stakeholders at the national level. The performance of the trained farmers showed remarkable improvement and farmers exhibited a paradigm shift towards commercial

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production (Zim-AIED/AgriTrade Fact Sheet/May 2013). The training provided by Sustainable Agricultural Technology (SAT) in the Zim-AIED program was practical and used hands on methods.

“Farming as a Business” was a fundamental concept taught in all projects and is beginning to overcome the donor dependency attitude that had arisen among the farmers. A cascading training approach enabled IPs to reach a large number of people. A majority of the training was provided by implementing partners. Ensuring training programs are sustained when the project ends by facilitating moving the training to local institutions will increase sustainability.

The Mission level agricultural strategy and program designs were well aligned to meet both agriculture growth and food security objectives which fostered peace prevalence. The key expected outcomes of DOs (Development Objectives) programs, such as expanding staple food and cash crop production, improving access to markets, increasing access to credit, improving the ability of vulnerable households to meet food needs, reducing poverty, increasing incomes, generating rural employment, and mitigating under-nutrition, were reasonably expected to be achieved through Phase II of the USAID’s Missions. Further, the Mission’s strategy and approach were well aligned with the Agency’s FTF (Feed The Future) initiative strategies and goals of reducing hunger and improving nutrition, that is, hunger and nutrition are well dealt with in the strategies (Zim-AIED/AgriTrade Fact Sheet/May 2013).

4.3.2 Evaluation on Zim-AIED’s perception on peace and development Zim-AIED believes that peace and security is an important part of people’s well-being and is an objective of development. It believes that lack of peace and security has adverse consequences on economic growth and development and inequalities are an important source of conflict. Zim-AIED believes that if access to markets is improved, staple food and cash crop production expanded, rural employment generated, and if vulnerable households are better able to meet their food needs, and if poverty is reduced, incomes increased, under nutrition mitigated, then food security will be increased and Zimbabweans will be less vulnerable (USAID/Zimbabwe, 2013). These perceptions are truly depicted by the organization’s activities it offers to its beneficiaries.

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Some of the people in the communities are now recognized because they are now well known farmers who produce a bumper harvest every year. The inclusion of women and youths in these projects has benefited orphans and the poor in the communities. They have seen the projects as a source of development to provide stability and harmony in their livelihoods. All the women participating in the projects are foster mothers to many orphans in Zimbabwe. The income generated from the sale of the project’s produce is mainly used to pay fees for the orphans and the vulnerable youths to meet their daily needs such as clothing and food thus inserting them an interest in the projects and now many are participating in the projects. Zim-AIED addresses the concepts of the youth bulge theory which believes that if youths are deprived of their needs and empowerment they became threats to the communities thereby yielding societies that are always characterized by conflicts. Therefore, creation of employment through Zim-AIED’s projects paves way for a socio-economically stable environment. In partnership with aid agencies, the Zimbabwean government has enforced policies and laws that protect youths from marginalization. Zimbabwe has enacted Economic Empowerment Act, The Ministry of youths, Indigenization and Economic Empowerment and the Zimbabwe Youth Council to show that development and peace building starts from empowerment as well as skills being acquired.

4.4 Summary The chapter mainly focused on the analysis of both primary and secondary data. Data was obtained through focus group discussions in the form of interviews, key informant questionnaires as well as comprehensive analysis of reconstructed data from various data sources such as the Ministry of Social Welfare, textbooks as well as academic journals. The data was analyzed using qualitative research paradigms. The next chapter will focus on the summary, conclusions and recommendations.

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CHAPTER 5- SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction A summation of what was found in the field is presented in this chapter. Recommendations on how best the studied community can achieve sustainability of projects initiated by Zim- AIED in poverty reduction are again provided. It outlines recommendations on how policies and projects can be adjusted so as to take on board critical issues, concerns, interests and needs of the community.

5.1 Summary The research covered Chiwororo Ward 11 in Mazowe District. The main objective of the study was to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Zim-AIED in facilitating poverty reduction in Chiwororo ward 11-Mazowe District of Mashonaland Central Province as the case study. The critical questions that the research sought to answer included what are the strengths and weaknesses of development aid intervention on poverty reduction in Mazowe District ward 11 by Zim-AIED, what are the roles of development aid organizations on rural livelihoods, as well as what is the impact of development aid on sustainable development . The research findings clearly answer these questions. The battle to achieve poverty reduction will be attainable if communities are trained and empowered to use their local natural resources to address their basic needs and Zim –AIED is trying by all means possible to apply these formal trainings.

Chapter one depicted that, the research is of great importance to the researcher and various institutions such as the university, development aid organizations, beneficiaries of aid as well as the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. It had taken note of the background to the research study, objectives, aim, statement of the problem, research questions as well as the assumptions of the research study. It has also given insights on the significance of the study, possible limitations, delimitations of the study as well as the key definitions to the research study.

Chapter two looked at the review of literature relevant to the topic under study. This review sought to establish the theoretical, empirical and conceptual evidence from appropriate books, internet journals, newspapers and reports in order to find the true fact and points of

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correction on the background information of the research topic. The review assisted in taking note of the knowledge gaps in the area of study as well as come up with a conceptual framework. It also helped in the establishment of the relationships between existing theories, the degree to which the existing theories have been investigated, as well as recent activities of development aid actions that are lessening poverty rates in other countries. The study depends on the dependency theory. This theoretical framework provides the research with a basis for comparing the various approaches giving strengths to the study of the effectiveness of development aid on poverty reduction. According to Rodney (1972), the only difference is that in the later, the theory was applied with harsh measures than one expects in the former state. It is also necessary to point out that due to corruption and bad governance, the dependency theory may be applied ruthlessly even in a sovereign state. The review highlighted the issues relating to the impact of those variables on the rural life fabric. The chapter looked into literature review of the topic under study as well as sought to identify, interpret and evaluate relevant literature and citations and what other researchers and writers identified as causes, types and effects. It was noted that, Zimbabwe and United Nations Country Team agreed to accentuate authority and social rights issues in the ZUNDAF in order to stimulate economic salvage in the short term as well as viable and equitable human growth in the long term.

Chapter three looked at the research methodology employed by the researcher in enquiring the information required from the respondents. The research design, target population, sampling procedures, data collection procedures, data presentation and analysis procedures and research instruments such as questionnaire forms and interview guides were also taken note of. The research design employed in this study was systematic sampling technique which gave everyone who participated in the projects an equal chance to be chosen for provision of information. The researcher used questionnaire forms and interview guides as data collection instruments. The research ethics that guided the behavior of the researcher during the course of gathering data in the field and the process after were also given in chapter three. Confidentiality had guided this research. A pilot testing was done before carrying out interviews and issuing of inquiry forms to determine the validity as noted by Brick and Wood in Samuel (2008) and to pre-test the research questions which offer the mandatory information to the study.

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Chapter four presented and analyzed the data which was obtained from the questionnaires and interviews. Responses from Zim-AIED beneficiaries and its agents have been narrated and discussed in line with research questions. In some instances, the researcher made use of tables to enable a clear vision of data collected at some point. The research established that the major development programmes currently being funded by Zim-AIED in Chiwororo ward are crop production and cattle ranching and the major consent raised by beneficiaries from development assistance was aid conditionality. The research also established that there is a sizeable number of widow headed families, a situation that is mainly attributed to the high prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS as well as chronic poverty in Chiwororo ward. One need to note that Zim-AIED’s programmes were evaluated, have been operating in Zimbabwean communities for about five years and their programmes are helpful in the acceleration of poverty alleviation. Moreover, the strategies of Zim-AIED were guided by the needs of the clients. Based on the findings from the field, the researcher believes that the objectives of the study were met. This was made possible by the respondents who showed more interest on the research topic as well as the problem.

Furthermore, the research established that from 2008 to date, development assistance organizations like Zim- AIED and FAO have provided an array of development initiatives and interventions that are aimed at addressing poverty issues and consequently increasing poverty reduction levels to the livelihoods of people in Chiwororo Ward. However, despite a long history of development aid intervention in Chiwororo Ward, most households are still trembling in chronic poverty due to dependency syndrome and laziness. Agricultural productivity in Chiwororo is also falling yet the rural population depends on agriculture. The researcher gets more insight into the impacts of development assistance activities on poverty reduction on rural livelihoods. This equipped the researcher with knowledge and skills.

From the findings, most households in the ward are living under the conditions of chronic poverty as identified through malnutrition, poor health, illiteracy and low agricultural produce resulting in few poor daily meals for households. However, with insurgency of Zim- AIED projects, many livelihoods have been improved. Most households are believed to rely on crop production and livestock sales as their sources of income. Chiwororo ward is characterized by households with very low literacy rate, who are still agriculturally dependent, female headed households and a sizeable number of child headed families.

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5.2 Conclusions The research findings have shown that the deteriorating socio-economic conditions of societies can be improved if they themselves actively take part in the very development processes meant to be their therapy. However, it should be noted that ensuring effective collaboration and involvement of the public in the development process has remained a problem. This has been predominantly purported and sustained through the use of the word ‘participation’ which has also shown to be a catchword of many development agents. Stakeholders in the development arena have failed to reach a common understanding on the actual approach to operative communal input that ensures project sustainability. This research has shown that community participation is an essential term which covers a number of different things as proffered by different stakeholders in the development discourse.

It is evident from the resultant data, discussion and analysis that Zim-AIED has played an important role in poverty reduction. The data collected shows that the projects being implemented by Zim-AIED are very effective in the facilitation of poverty reduction and aims to address human needs. Indication of gender main streaming is an important aspect in addressing human needs. This also improves the welfare, productivity and empowerment of both men and women. Zim-AIED has played a major role in facilitating poverty reduction that is the need to sustain human life.

Development assistance is impacting positively on improving rural people's livelihoods through poverty reduction. The assistance is mainly done on inputs provision. The aid encourages donor dependency to a lesser extent but largely contributes to self-reliance using readily available natural resources. Input provisions do generate income and does not support laziness. Zim-AIED paves way for Socialization. Formation and practice of peaceful and democratic attitudes and values among citizens includes tolerance, mutual trust and non- violent conflict resolution which lead to good socialization among citizens.

Furthermore, a negative price effect for domestic food producers is possible as large volumes of food aid imports may cause an outward shift in the domestic supply curve and depress local producer prices. Thus, the lower producer price is a disincentive to local production. For

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example, EU food aid in the form of milk powder had a negative effect on the local dairy industries in several recipient countries (Singer, et al, 1987). Although there have been several empirical investigations of the validity of the price and production disincentive effects, the results have been mixed. While earlier studies found some evidence in support of the disincentive effects of food aid, several more recent empirical analyses found little or no evidence in its support.

Unlike in development models where authoritarianism is accompanied with growth (for example China), in the Zimbabwean case, it has been inimical to growth. Indeed, Zimbabwe has notched dubious records on the economic front during the period under review. For five years running up to the present, it has had the highest inflation and fastest shrinking economy in the world. In the course of 2008, the Zimbabwe Central Statistical Office (CSO) stated that inflation had climbed to over 1 million per cent. The research findings show that Zim-AIED organization has done much in trying to address human needs and alleviate poverty rates. Communities should be empowered and trained to utilize their local natural so that they enjoy benefits from these resources. Capacity building should be done to enable people to address their basic needs.

It would be inappropriate to remark that there has been effective poverty reduction in Mazowe District because the evidence on the ground has shown that beneficiaries usually participate fully when the development partner is still maintaining its presence in the area. The moment that partner leaves, problems which were being addressed by the project begin to resurface. A case in point is the issue of farming in terms of input supplies in the research area. During the presence of agents who were there to provide farming inputs, the area had a low rate of poverty allegations and the community had even formed committees which oversaw smooth flows of input allocations as well as effective application of the knowledge acquired from the Agricultural Extension Officers. Recently, this 2014 year has seen the winding up of the programme and the area began reporting the highest numbers of poverty stricken households who depended on receiving inputs freely or on credit and are now unable to buy them on their own after the relapse of the program. Henceforth, this shows that development partners sometimes contribute to the dependency syndrome and this hampers the socio-economic development.

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However, the research did not cover the work of civil societies and aid organizations whose concerns are issues of governance, policy formulation and implementation. Extensive research on this gap is of paramount importance and need to be taken into account. The researcher did not also cover government's efforts towards food security and livelihoods. These areas need further research.

5.3 Recommendations Based on the research findings the following recommendations were made:

 The researcher noticed some gaps that Zim-AIED should revisit so that poverty reduction can be attained. Zim-AIED should strengthen their research, planning and financial support to natural resources management. Further research is required concerning the proportional advantages of various types of civil society organizations, and their contributions in the different conflict phases. Critical success factors need to be better understood. Research should be done in a coordinated manner, with a well-defined boundary between researchers, practitioners, policy makers and external support organizations.

 It is of paramount importance to build on existing structures rather than trying to create new ones. Sustainable human development emphasizes value addition to the beliefs and norms of a mortal being therefore reinforcement of populations’ cultural dogmas and ethics will promote participation in projects. Development partners have been overseeing this phase and as a result some projects fail because they would not have had a purchase in from the native governance, especially the traditional leaders. These people act as go- betweens between their subjects and other stakeholders. They motivate public involvement and ensure that civic needs are taken into account.

 Women play a major role in communal contribution and distinct courtesy need to be paid to them. In many cases, ladies are the main to be affected by any socio-economic issues hence they are most enthusiastic to partake in projects that advance their living conditions. As both residents and populaces, women play a decisive role in the small happenings and form vital channels of communication through their abundant

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opportunities to meet one another. Most projects disregards to take into account their internal environments hence this mostly affects their input yet they form the majority of project recipients. It is imperative to take into concern cultural conducts and their literacy levels so that they successfully partake in activities that disturb their well-being.

 The researcher recommends that there is need for collaboration between the program implementers and their beneficiaries so as to address the challenges and weaknesses in the progress of the project. Higher commitment fees should be charged so that only serious farmers will join for progress sake and constant supervision should be done so that the principles of the organization are followed. Frequent follow ups by Zim-AIED project facilitators should be done on grooming farmers so that higher yields will be obtained. Farmers should follow trainings they are being given as well as use the inputs as directed rather than selling them to have short term income.

 While allocating relief aid during times of needs, Zim-AIED should also venture into projects that assist municipal members to learn to help themselves. It is therefore, highly recommended that Zim-AIED should not do for the public but should work with the communal members.

 Result and effect evaluations should be more strictly practiced. Theory and approach development in this area should receive additional support. Donors need to develop shared agendas and better synchronize approaches in country programming.

 Civil societies like Zim-AIED should carry out thorough investigation into real areas in need of aid. Development partners need to have an in-depth insight into areas that still require emphasis in order for them to be successful in achieving their main goal of reducing poverty rates. They will also be able to assess their efforts and realize the importance of offering projects in line with actual needs of the constituencies they serve.  The researcher recommends developmental rather than humanitarian aid so as to eradicate reliance theory in favor of self-sustenance. The ministry of Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare should enter the public more often so as to recognize the needy citizens and discover ways of supporting them. The ministry should also find development companions to help advance the lives of the people in Mazowe District. Thus, food aid

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could be a tool of economic development and poverty reduction in food-deficit and distant exchange-constrained unindustrialized countries. Monetized food assistance could possibly serve as a key foundation of income for the beneficiary government and help reduce fiscal and balance of payments restraints. The additional resources from native food aid sales could be used by the beneficiary regime to reduce the taxation of its agronomic sector and rather increase speculation in agronomy.

 Practical assistance programmes should be built on local knowledge and development urgencies as this will not weaken human and official capacity nor does it endure aid dependency and abolish people's inspiration to take charge of their own expectations. Development assistance should be determined and directed by recipient's expansion priority and capacity construction strategy. It is crystal clear that aid that undermines a recipient's capacity and sense of ownership of policies and programmes cannot support sustainable growth but rather perpetuates dependency.

 Zim-AIED must conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis of institutional arrangement to determine and strengthen their effectiveness.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW GUIDE- To be answered by residents of Chiwororo ward 11-

Mazowe District.

BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF PEACE AND GOVERNANCE

My name is Rejoice Ngandu a part 4 student at Bindura University studying Peace and Governance. The following questions are designed to collect information from you, concerning a research topic on the assessment of the impact of development aid intervention by Zimbabwe Agriculture, Income and Employment Development (Zim- IED) on poverty reduction. Your honest responses to the following questions will be of great importance in the success of this study. The information you will provide will be treated confidential and will only be used for academic purposes of this study only. You are being kindly asked to participate in the study and participation is completely voluntary.

1. What is your source of income and how far have you gone with education? 2. What is the characteristic of your household? 3. For how long have you been assisted by Zim-AIED? 4. Are the projects addressing the concepts of poverty reduction? 5. Has the Zim-AIED assistance resulted in increased availability, distribution and adoption of improved technologies by the farmers? 6. Has this assistance resulted in increased agricultural productivity and increased sales?

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7. Has this assistance helped to increase farm household income and promoted sustenance in the community? 8. How has the project facilitated financing of beneficiary farmer operations and what evidence is there? 9. Have the activities addressed the concerns of women and other vulnerable groups in the target communities? If so, how has this been done and what evidence do you have regarding this assistance? 10. How sustainable are the project’s interventions and the economic advances made by the beneficiary farmers? 11. How sustainable is the adoption of improved agricultural technologies? 12. Have you received any formal training from Zim-AIED and if ‘yes’ what form of training have you received? 13. What could be improved in the implementation of this project at the community level? 14. Can you identify the major benefits that you have achieved through development assistance by Zim-AIED? 15. What have been the weaknesses of development aid by Zim-AIED on your livelihood? 16. What are some of the major challenges that you have faced during the period in question? 17. What recommendations would you suggest for improving the nature of collaboration between yourself and development partners?

Thank you for taking time to respond to the questions on the questionnaire form.

Your efforts are valuable to the study.

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APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE To agencies of Zim-AIED organization which had been operating from 2010 To 2014in ward 11 of Mazowe District.

BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF PEACE AND GOVERNANCE

My name is Rejoice Ngandu a part 4 student at Bindura University studying Peace and Governance.

The following questions are designed to collect information from you, about an assessment of the impact of development aid intervention by Zimbabwe Agriculture, Income and Employment Development (Zim-IED) on poverty reduction. Your honest responses to the following questions will be of great importance in the success of this study. Your responses shall be kept with confidentiality.

1. What is your position in the organization?...... 2. How many years have you served Zim-AIED?...... 3. What support have your organization given to small holder farmers?...... 4. What is your understanding on the relationship between your services and poverty reduction?...... 5. Do you think as an organization you can play an important role in addressing the basic needs of communities? If yes, give evidence ......

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...... 6. Has this assistance helped to increase farm household income and promoted sustenance in the community? If yes, give detailed evidence ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………..

7. Are you facing any challenges?, if yes what are the challenges that you are facing?...... 8. What can you suggest to minimize the challenges you are facing?...... 9. Are the activities relevant and appropriate to the needs of the beneficiary farmers and the country given the current economic and operating environment? If yes, expand further...... 10. Have these activities helped to link beneficiary farmers to input suppliers, produce buyers, agro-processors, credit suppliers or other service providers? If yes, expand further...... 11. What agricultural production and marketing systems and market linkages has the project put in place?......

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...... 12. How has the project facilitated financing of beneficiary farmer operations and what evidence is there?...... 13. How do you foresee results and outcomes achieved contributing to long term household livelihood recovery?......

Thank you for taking time to respond to the questions during the interview. Your efforts are valuable to the study.

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