A socio-anthropological study on wild meat consumption in Binga district, Zimbabwe. A report for the KaZa SWM Programme. Montpellier, UE Sustainable Wildlife Management project. FAO, CIRAD, CIFOR, WCS

This report provides a socio-anthropological approach of the food consumption habits of the Tonga people living nearby conservancy areas in Binga district (Zimbabwe), in the KaZa site of the SWM programme (https://www.swmprogramme. info/). It documents the type of food consumed, the practices for purchasing, preparing, sharing food, and the social and cultural values rooted in the local food consumption patterns. It focuses on wild meat and other wild products. The study highlights, that despite the importance of livestock in the area, the production of meat is low, and is mostly traded on more attractive markets. The abundant production of fish from the Kariba Lake little benefits to the local consumers. The purchasing power is low, and the wild resources (meat and other flesh food, fruits and vegetables) are important in contributing to the diversity of the food diet, but also as part of the local culture and the social life. Wildlife also supports coping strategies to face food insecurity and crisis, as shown by the Covid-19 events. This study allows measuring the gap between the present situation and the quantified objectives of the SWM project: 1) wild meat represents approximately 26% of the meat consumption when the objective is 10%; 2) 20% of the households have three meals per day throughout the year when the objective is to reach 80%. The diagnosis also provides clues to finetune and achieve these objectives : Wild meat is not just “proteins”, and alternatives to wild meat consumption should address the different functions of food (nutritional but also economic, social, cultural, hedonic). The objective to reduce wild meat consumption should take into account the diversity of the species consumed (insects, rodents, birds, frogs, etc.) and be adapted to the related conservation issues (are these insects, rodents, birds, etc. endangered or resilient species?). Improving meat or fish availability will not be enough to increase local food consumption since the purchasing power is low and the local market structures are weak. The development of alternatives sources of meat can support the local food security and the conservation issue, but also needs to contribute to the local fragile economy by integrating the most vulnerable economic stakeholders (rather than competing with them). The next steps should be to address more precisely the diversity of the consumers' profile, and to quantify their consumption.