BOOK REVIEWS 105The Food Problem By V. Tickner. Gwelo, Mambo Press, From Rhodesia toZimbabwe 8, 1979, 76pp., Z$0.85.The author of this booklet is to be congratulated for producing a competentoverview of the food industry in Zimbabwe. In doing so he has made gooduse of the limited data at his disposal. However, the book is marred by oneor two irritating errors and by the occasional presentation of incorrect infor-mation which could have quite easily been overcome by checking directlywith local organizations and individuals. A good example of this is the referenceto Progress Trading Association and its involvement with the Whitsun Foun-dation. Tickner makes the point that the Association is attempting to attackthe problem of distribution in rural areas and then gives the impression thatthe project is not receiving any support. In fact the Whitsun Foundation hasmade a substantial investment in the Association, which in 1980 will enjoy aturnover of over Z$6 million. The Association has not made the progressoriginally envisaged because of the war but it is poised for rapid expansionnow that the country is returning to normal.The assertion is also made that the majority of the population is eitherundernourished or suffering from malnutrition. This assumption is notsupported by hard evidence and his case would have been more balanced hadhe made reference to the fact that the food supply in Zimbabwe, in termsof calories per capita per day is the highest in the Southern African region.Estimates of food consumption also support the contrary view that, althoughthe situation is highly skewed, the average level of food availability is wellin excess of 2,400 calories per capita per day as an assessment of a reasonablesupply of the energy requirements for human sustenance. The booklet payslittle attention to comparative prices and, had it done so, it would have beenclear that food prices in Zimbabwe are, by and large, well below those pre-vailing in the other States within the region and that these prices are effectiveprices since most food products are in free supply.The persistent reference to an ascribed attitude of White farmers, whoare assumed to oppose efforts at development of communal agriculture, doesnot conform with the facts. White farmers have a good understanding ofthe need to develop all parts of agriculture and in fact have demonstratedconsistently in recent years a positive attitude towards this problem. Inparticular, the quotation on page 60 is not given a source and I would doubtvery much if it can be substantiated by any official statement from localinstitutions.Perhaps most serious is a general criticism that the booklet is too super-ficial. The guidelines suggested in the last chapter are of little value to theincoming Government and do not allow for the best use of the existingadministrative infrastructure. Critical issues such as pricing policies and themanagement of food aid are almost completely ignored, and the author has,in this respect, lost an opportunity to make a substantial contribution to thedebate on these subjects. As many other developing countries have come toappreciate, the creation and maintenance of an efficient and effective food-supply system is not a simple or an easy exercise. Many of the policy choicesare difficult for a popularly elected Government to make. However, thosewho have responsibility for giving guidance in this respect should not avoidthe hard questions but rather attempt to bring clarity and sound counsel tothe issues involved.A number of valuable points are made, these include: the need to paygreater attention to manpower training at all levels within the food supplysystem; the adoption of an integrated approach to rural development; and theurgent need to improve rural-distribution infrastructure. His call for a new106 BOOK REVIEWSpopulation census is also timely and will be widely endorsed in all sections ofthe community in Zimbabwe.Agricultural Marketing Authority, Salisbury E. G. CROSSThe Woman's Guide to Law through Life By The Women in Development .'R&earch Unit. Salisbury, University of Rhodesia, Centre for Inter-racial 'Studies, 1979, 43pp., Z$0.50. l'African Women in Urban Employment By Joan May. Gwelo, Mambo Press,Occasional Paper, Socio-Economic Series 12, 83pp., Z$2.00.l'lie first booklet under review attempts to outline the law as it affects African 'women in matters concerning marriage, birth, children, death and widowhood. *The title does not give an idea of the target population of the handbook, and (the fact that it focuses on African law excludes non-African women who icould also benefit from a simplified handbook (witness the success in Britainof Anna Coote and Tessa Gill's Women's Rights: A Practical Guide (Har-mondsworth, Penguin, 1974)).The handbook will be of limited use to a large number of African womenwho are not literate if! English but who could benefit more from a vernacularversion of the handbook. Some points are given briefly without an accom- fpanying explanation, e.g. why it is necessary to have a 'genuine go-between'if the guardian of a woman who is getting married is a Purchase Area fanner. IHowever, the handbook is useful, simply because it raises points for 1discussion on procedure, thus stimulating more interest and inquiry by womeninto the whole arena of customary law and its effects on African women'sstatus. It is also useful to community workers who deal with women in clubs '.and so forth, and can help bring attention to legal issues that women are not f'aware of.Tie second booklet highlights the cultural, economic and social disad- 'vantages imposed on women in urban employment. It makes useful suggestions ,for improving the lot of women, e.g. the establishment of women's bureaux.This is a useful suggestion in view of the shortage of information that can beused to guide action in the field of women's welfare and emancipation. How-ever, the author falls short of her stated intention of identifying motivational *factors which would draw women into agriculture where, she says, there is achronic labour shortage. Also she does not suggest how women can realize .*their potential in a rural, agricultural setting where agricultural and economic 'activity is male-dominated and male-oriented. Despite this, the paper high-lights the wastage of female resources and presents a challenge to agriculturaland rural policy-makers and their counterparts in urban commerce andindustry.University of Zimbabwe RUDO GAIDZANWA -