Sorghum a cheaper alternative for urban poor

A market intervention programme has helped Zimbabwe's urban poor improve their food security by offering them cheaper sorghum cereal, as opposed to the relatively expensive maize staple. In September 2003 Catholic Relief Services (CRS) launched a Market Assistance Pilot Programme (MAPP) to reduce urban vulnerability in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded MAPP and provided sorghum to beneficiaries as a low-cost alternative to maize. The pilot programme imported 20,000 mt of sorghum, which was milled and placed in strategic retail outlets for sale to the public at a subsidised price. "During a time when Zimbabwe's urban population has seen its purchasing power slashed by soaring inflation and widespread unemployment, with limited access to food, a unique market intervention has worked to rebuild the failing commercial sector and sustain the urban poor," the Consortium for Southern Africa Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE), of which CRS is a member, said in a statement. C-SAFE, comprised of CRS, World Vision and CARE, began the programme in a bid to mitigate the combined effects of drought, Zimbabwe's deteriorating economic situation and HIV/AIDS. These factors had "left livelihoods frayed and urban communities powerless to emerge from a state of chronic food insecurity," C-SAFE commented. "Relief, aid and development projects have traditionally focused on rural areas, where needs are severe. But in Zimbabwe's case, where we have massive market failures in urban areas, the evaporation of infrastructure and critical wounding of the local economy, the ability to recuperate is limited, and prospects for hunger relief are poor," Brad Barnett of CRS was quoted as saying. As an alternative to traditional food distributions, C-SAFE approached existing commercial entities that could facilitate a programme aimed at "filling the market gap" with an affordable maize substitute. "The sorghum proposal initially encountered resistance from both retailers and consumers, given its lack of commercial presence in the local market for several generations. However, within weeks, 150 retailers in 40 high-density Bulawayo suburbs agreed to sell the cereal. Demand exploded from 30 mt to 300 mt a day, and by November seven local millers were milling and packaging the USAID sorghum to meet the incredible consumer demand," C-SAFE noted. A 10kg bag of sorghum currently retails for Zim $6,000 (US $1.20). Zimbabweans struggle to afford maize meal - which costs more than Zim $20,000 (US $4) per 10 kg bag - when it is available. Annual inflation in Zimbabwe stood at 583.7 percent last month. The country has been ravaged by food shortages for the past few years and an average monthly food basket now costs at least Zim $500,000 (US $94.85), while the average monthly salary of a worker is about Zim $80,000 (US $15.77). "The price of sorghum set by C-SAFE is determined by income, household size, and the retail price gap between maize and sorghum. When cereal prices rise, the potential for side marketing increases, so C-SAFE monitors the market activity and adjusts the sorghum price accordingly. Retailers are also permitted a 15 percent mark-up on the product to ensure profitability. The sorghum is an easy sell and it is priced to move, but it stays in the target market," C-SAFE explained. PROGRAMME EXPANDING In late 2003 C-SAFE assessed the possibility of expanding the MAPP to other poor urban areas and found that "purchases of sorghum jumped from 0 percent to 82 percent of households in four months, satisfying a market gap in unmet cereal demand". There was also a concurrent increase in the number of meals consumed daily by both children and adults. "The MAPP had succeeded in its approach to be self-targeting, readily available and commercially accepted," C-SAFE concluded. The Bulawayo market now consumes around 1,000 mt of MAPP sorghum each month, where an estimated 77 percent of the population, or 460,000 people, are being fed each month by the programme. C-SAFE announced that "in recognition of the MAPP's impact, and its potential to assist many more vulnerable households, USAID Food for Peace has approved a MAPP expansion to Gweru, targeting over 100,000 urban poor; an expansion to Chitunguiza, targeting 250,000 urban poor; and the continuation of the original programme in Bulawayo." C-SAFE spokeswoman Kristy Allen-Shirley told IRIN that the "MAPP programme will be running through to at least the end of this fiscal year (October 2004)", and the possibility of replicating the MAPP in Zambia was being considered. "We will see if it is appropriate for the Zambian population, and if we can secure funding for it," Allen-Shirley added. The expansion of the MAPP into other urban centres "would support C-SAFE's goal to improve and maintain the nutritional status of targeted vulnerable groups; increase support to households affected by HIV/AIDS; increase and maintain agricultural productivity and improve market linkages," the organisation observed. Barnett lauded the programme, saying "it can enter a market and satisfy the unmet needs of low-income households immediately and begin to rebuild the commercial structure at the same time". "We are linking all levels of community from consumers to small-scale traders to experienced millers and eventually aim at linking with local producers of sorghum. Because sorghum is also a drought resistant crop, it's better suited to the semi-arid climate of Matabeleland [province] than maize," said Barnett. "Now that we've demonstrated a commercial acceptance of the cereal, we would be keen to find a way to encourage the intensive cultivation of it here in Zimbabwe, to rebuild the cereal market into one that is again self-sustaining and autonomous. For now, the MAPP's supply of sorghum is closing the market gap and its reliability is appreciated in an environment where uncertainty reigns."