International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue XII, December 2022|ISSN 2454-6186

Impact of Village Savings and Loan Associations on Food Security in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of Marange Community in Mutare District.

 Dereck Moyo (Mr)¹ and Tough Chinoda (PhD)^2
1Dereck Moyo. Principal Author of this paper. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Development Studies at the Women’s University in Africa, Harare, Zimbabwe.
²Tough Chinoda (PhD), Co-author for this paper. Senior lecturer, University of Zimbabwe.

Abstract:
Objective: The study aimed at evaluating the impact of the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) on food security.
Methods: Guided by a pragmatist philosophy, the study applied mixed methods approach with an exploratory sequential design beginning with qualitative research phase. It explored the views of participants from four focus group discussions (FGDs) and seven key informant interviews (KIIs) to identify and specify variables to be measured through the second phase which was quantitative research. The quantitative phase used a household survey questionnaire to collect data from 204 respondents exclusive of participants of the first phase. Data from FGDs was analysed using NVivo, while One-Way ANOVA Test was used to analyze data from individual households.
Results: The results showed that non-VSLAs members experience poor food availability and utilization throughout the year. Participation in VSLAs increased household food availability by 0.349 and utilization of food by 0.222, as evidenced by eating of balanced meal by household members. The results also indicated that participation in VSLAs led to better access to food, and stability of access, availability and utilization of food than non-VSLAs households.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between household’s participation in VSLAs and its food security.

Keywords: Food availability, food security, savings and credit cooperative society, stability, village savings and loan associations, utilization of food.

I. INTRODUCTION

In the past few decades, concerns have been increasingly expressed about poverty and hunger due to droughts and malnutrition. Typically, the phenomenon of hunger is experienced more in developing countries (FAO, 2017) in which vulnerable populations are predominantly smallholder farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture for food security (Mutea et al, 2019). Researchers have documented that drought and low incomes are the most prominent threats to smallholder farmers’ food security (Dzanku, 2018). In addition, these smallholder farmers already face limited or no access to formal

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