Impact of NGOs’ development programmes in addressing challenges to food security in the Chief Mazivofa Village, Mberengwa District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study explored the impact of programmes implemented by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in addressing food security challenges in Chief Mazivofa Village (CMV), using CARE as a case study. The study contributes to the inconclusive debates on whether NGOs resiliently impacted food security in CMV, or not, and also adds to studies in the community of interest. It was found that the top-down approaches applied by NGOs to address food security challenges have failed to appreciate local knowledge and to capture the community’s expectations, which has resulted in unintended consequences, such as relief aid dependency at the expense of productivity, empowerment, and sustainability. NGOs should adopt a bottom-up model that strikes a balance between necessity, dependency, and sustainability and which is, therefore, more empowering.