Since then, a mix of policy measures including the restructuring of public finance, as well as soil conservation and water harvesting, new land settlement, household-level income generating and transfer measures have been successful in curbing food insecurity and promoting human welfare. Mozambique , after nearly a decade of economic liberalization, and four years after a devastating conflict, remains among the poorest countries in the world.
Hunger is a stark fact of life for large numbers of households.
Yet progress has been made in recent years towards sustainable food security. This can be seen through lower and more stable prices for the principal domestically produced staple, white maize, and a food system that now provides consumers with a broader range of low-cost foods from which to choose. Zimbabwe did not witness significant improvements in average food availability and household food security over the past three decades, which placed the country among those still vulnerable. Productivity in the food sector has been on the decline since the early 1970s, and especially in the 1980s, as a result of changing agricultural policies. More recently, structural changes in the marketing of maize, the principal food crop, removed some of the constraints on the market, resulting in substantial betterment of the food security of the most vulnerable population groups through reduced maize prices.