Quarterly Report: Amalima Loko Resilience Food Security Activity

The program operates in 21 watershed clusters across Tsholotsho, Nkayi, Lupane, Binga, and Hwange districts of Matabeleland North province. The program aims to increase food access and sustainable watershed management. The program began on October 1, 2020, and is led by CNFA as the prime implementer, in partnership with the Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP), Dabane, Mercy Corps, International Medical Corps (IMC), and The Manoff Group. This report covers the first quarter (October–December) of FY23, which is Year 3 of the Amalima Loko program. The 2022 staple grain harvest in Matabeleland North was relatively poor, and food security challenges increased through this quarter. However, seasonal rains began well in late October, and the overall precipitation outlook for the growing season is positive. It is expected that food availability will improve toward the end of next quarter. The program made significant progress in the first quarter of FY23, with the completion of all 89 target wards' Ward Transformation Plans and the operationalization of all 21 Watershed Cluster Steering Committees. All 562 communities completed their Village Action Plans, and many began implementing collective action activities, independent of Amalima Loko, based on their defined priorities. Amalima Loko also made progress with watershed infrastructure activities, drilling 20 and rehabilitating 60 boreholes, completing conservation works at ten sites totaling 250 hectares of cleared land, and installing a one-hectare irrigation scheme in Ntonjeni, Nkayi. The program signed grant agreements with Greenline Africa and Mefemo Trading, and Blanket Supplementary Food Program (BSFP) distributions continued in all program areas, reaching 31,985 participants. The program hosted several USAID monitoring visits, including visits by BHA Nutrition Advisor Mike Manske, Activity Manager, and Meal Specialist, and William Dreyer, Humanitarian Assistance Officer at USAID/Southern Africa Division, and Justin Mupeyiwa, USAID/ BHA Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. Community Visioning (CV) continued to be an essential component of the Amalima Loko program, with the project using its CV approach to support villages to identify their own development priorities and to develop local transformation plans. The program completed village and ward planning processes in Nkayi (Zenka and Gwelutshena clusters), developing three Village Action Plans and five Ward Transformation Plans. Across all districts, Amalima Loko supported communities to submit 45 Ward Transformation Plans to local government by the end of Q1. The remaining 44 plans will be submitted in the next quarter. Community Action – Based on the priorities that communities defined for themselves in the village planning process, 99 villages embarked on collective action activities this quarter, independent of Amalima Loko, such as construction of dip tanks, dams, schools, clinics, and protection of grazing lands. Some examples of community-led works that were completed include the construction of lodging for three teachers at Hilltop secondary school and the building of a new satellite classroom to serve 16 students who live far away from the school in Lupane. In Tsholotsho, Sihlangene village used community funds to drill and equip a new borehole benefiting 51 households. The Amalima Loko program has made significant progress in the first quarter of FY23, with the completion of key community planning and preparation activities, the operationalization of watershed cluster steering committees, and the implementation of watershed infrastructure activities. The program continues to support communities to identify their own development priorities and to develop local transformation plans through the Community Visioning approach.