Caritas Mutare Short Term Food Security Project Caritas Zimbabwe Mutare is seeking to extend the project which had been running from November 2009 to December 2010. Implementation of the project was preceded by a needs assessment which was conducted from the 24th to the 28th of August 2009. This was done in the Urban and peri-Urban areas of Mutare district. The result of the survey showed that the majority of the food insecure population groups were young widows, grandmothers headed households, child headed households and households with members affected or infected by HIV and AIDS. Food insecure households were those with food consumption score of =35.
The programme period was too short this should be a developmental rather than a relief programme. Hence we need at least one to two years to complete the project and also measure impact. The projects in the urban are very backward since after 9 months they are still at land preparation and provision of water stage while in the peri-urban the communities have sold more than three crops now.
For the second phase CARITAS MUTARE proposes the 
At Mai Maria and Kentucky irrigation land preparation and demarcation, water and canal and tank construction and electricity fixing is still in progress. This means that the projects or beneficiaries will start to do meaning full farming by end of December 2010. These two schemes have a total of 401 beneficiaries each with 500 square metres arable land.
The number of beneficiaries for the project phase 2 would be 1500 from 2500 after dropping phase 1 beneficiaries based on project impact monitoring and evaluation analysis.Careful selection of farmers in potential areas of Chishakwe, Gombakomba and Dora in the communal and individuals is going to be carried out. A comprehensive analysis will be done for each farmer performance in the said areas.  Beneficiary selection for project phase 2 is based on the state of food insecurity of beneficiaries as at close of project phase 1. The targeted number of beneficiary is 1500 beneficiaries and only 1053 beneficiaries would be eligible for the provision of inputs based on their state of food security as project phase 1 ends. From project phase 1, only 1500 beneficiaries qualifed for project phase 2, about 1000 beneficiaries were dropped as they were found to be ineligible for project phase 2, based on project phase 1 impact assessment. Of the dropped 1000 beneficiaries, 183 beneficiaries dropped out of the project for reasons that cannot be corrected (lack of interest/land/capacity or personal circumstances) and 817 beneficiaries were dropped out of project phase 2 as they have already achieved the project goals of food security (income/FCS) by end of October 2010. 1500 beneficiaries are targeted for project phase 2 as they did not yet achieve the project goal of food security (income/FCS) by end of October 2010.

Based on the project phase 1 impact assessment, of the targeted 1500 beneficiaries, 1053 benficiaries would be mobilised for the provision of inputs of US$20.00 per beneficiary, as project phase 2 activities are informed by project phase 1 impact analysis. Caritas Zimbabwe Mutare will mobilise those beneficiaries not eligible for inputs to buy their own inputs from their improved income. The programme will prioritise mainstreaming gender, disability, child protection, HIV/AIDS, and Environmental management. The project will drop the e-voucher for work component since most of the work for farmers to be given the vouchers has been done and the objectives of this component have been met. The communities were supposed to work and be given food for three months before their produces are a sold or consumed and this was done already in the previous phase.

Horticultural demonstration plots would be set as look and learn field plots. A total of 5 demonstration plots would be set, each in Chishakwe, Gombakomba, Dora, Amai Maria and Kentucky irrigation scheme. Income from the demonstration plots would contribute towards the service and maintenance of communities’ common resource properties like boreholes, rehabilitation of canals and irrigation pumps.  

Intensification of efforts on the water component, the establishment of irrigation management systems and capacity building of beneficiaries in critical areas such as group dynamics, marketing, management skills, advocacy and lobbying will be made one of the top priorities of phase 2 of the programme. A farm shed would be established on both Kentucky and Amai Maria irrigation schemes. Additional one electric irrigation water supply borehole pumps is to be installed, each at Kentucky and Amai Maria irrigation schemes.