9406270 CAMPBELL Zimbabwe, like many parts of Africa, is facing important questions regarding the ability of rural residents to cope with food deficits, an issue that is inextricably connected to land distribution. Since 1980, over 50,000 households in Zimbabwe have been resettled in formerly white-owned farms and ranches, mainly in semi-arid to arid environments. As witnessed during the last prolonged drought period, resettlement households are particularly vulnerable to recurrent food shortages. Food shortage coping strategies, as part of food security, are dependent upon the interplay of complex linkages between society and environment. This analysis is based on a regional political ecology framework that facilitates the linkage of human and environmental variables and views the environment as a dynamic and interactive component of rural societies. This project will involve research in two field sites and in Harare with collaboration of faculty and students at the University of Zimbabwe. Comparative field work will be conducted in two resettlement areas in differing environments, and in adjacent non- resettlement areas, which will serve as control groups. A survey questionnaire will assess the role of human-environment relationships in food storage coping strategies. Survey results will be combined with qualitative information gathered during one year of field residence. This study will contribute important new insights into the understanding of food shortage coping strategies in the context of resettlement lands and it will assess the efficacy of regional political ecology as a research framework. As a doctoral dissertation research improvement award, this project will also provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career. ***
