Feeding hope: Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa and the evolving landscape of cross-border remittances

Cross-border food remittances contribute to household food security in the receiving countries in the Global South. This paper draws on recent research on Zimbabwean cross-border food remittances from South Africa to Zimbabwe to explore the impact on food security back home. This is achieved by examining food remittance flows from South Africa through digital channels and informal land corridors using cross-border transporters. The paper discusses both the recent widespread use of digital and mobile technology-based pathways and other traditional channels to remit food back home to Zimbabwe and the factors that have contributed to the shift. The study is based on a desktop methodology that involves an in-depth analysis of peer-reviewed journal articles and reports on food remittances by Zimbabwean migrants based in South Africa. The findings reveal complex and interesting insights into past and current cross-border food flows. First, the food remitting channels are diverse and include hybrid food remitting processes. Second, cross-border food remittances impact local food systems, although households with family members in the diaspora generally enjoy improved food and nutrition security. The paper also examines the impact of the shift to digital food transfers on households, cross-border food transfers, and local food producers, particularly in terms of accessibility, affordability, and nutritional diversity. • Food remittances reduce food insecurity, enhance dietary diversity and improve the socio-economic well-being of beneficiaries. • In 2020, digital and mobile channels transformed the food remittance landscape as the pandemic disrupted informal pathways. • Fintech innovations enabled digital-mobile and contactless food remittance transactions, ensuring cross-border support. • Digital-mobile remittance services are fast, reliable, and inclusive, reaching unbanked, undocumented migrants, informal traders, and rural areas. • Fintech firms collaborate with producers/outlets to source food locally, strengthen supply chains and support local food systems.