5.3

5.3

The Impact of Voucher Assistance on Livelihoods

SEADS Handbook Location: Chapter 5 (book p. 53, PDF p. 60)

In Phase 1 (August 2017) of the project, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) provided food assistance to address the dire food needs of recently internally displaced people, returnees, and a small percentage of vulnerable host community households affected by conflict.

In Phase 2 (September 2018), CRS targeted 24,000 of those individuals (3,000 households) to receive agricultural input support and seed protection rations. The conditional seed and tool assistance included a seed vouchers fair during season B (March–June), another during season A (August–January), and a direct distribution of two hoes per family at the season B seed voucher fair. Along with the first seed voucher fair, households also received a seed protection ration (via the voucher fair) equivalent to a monthly half ration. The targeted households bought the following seeds: corn (bought by 95.4% of households), cowpea (75.7%), beans (25.6%), watermelon (24%), and peanuts (22.9%). Overall, 91.1% of the beneficiary households found the seed fairs acceptable or excellent.

Overall objectives for the project were:

• Conflict-affected households in Kasai Central and Kasai Oriental improved their food security.
• Targeted households improved their food self-sufficiency.

In terms of food production, nearly all targeted households (95.4%) planted the purchased seeds, resulting in a higher food production in 2019, but still not above average. A large proportion of households (59%) planted more in 2019 than in 2018, 46% planted more than in an average year, and 30% planted the same or less than in 2018.

The Phase 2 participants showed improved food security, with an average food consumption score (FCS) ranging from 42.7 to 45.8 (acceptable is > 42.5), and 51.5% of the group achieved the acceptable FCS level of 42.5.