FAO and Austrian Cooperation sign agreement to improve seed production and conservation agriculture system in central Mozambique
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) signed today an agreement to implement a project to increase the resilience of climate-affected producers in the central region of the country.
The € 1.5 million project will focus on improving the local seed production system and promoting conservation agriculture techniques in three districts of the provinces of Manica and Sofala, namely Guro and Tambara (Manica) and Chemba (Sofala).
According to FAO Representative Castro Camarada, the project, which is part of one of the priorities of the collaboration framework between FAO and the Mozambican government, will cover around 12,000 people and will also focus on the promotion of resilience technologies, with emphasis on conservation agriculture.
In his turn, the Representative of the Austrian Development Cooperation, Hubert Neuwirth, stated that "this support will increase resilience in the context of climate changes for the most vulnerable, adding that with this new budget, the investment of ADC in similar situations since last year totals 3 million euros.
Representing the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MASA), Felix Paulo, general inspector of MASA stressed that through the project there will be conditions created so that the population in the regions where the project is going to be able to increase production and productivity.
"The issue of resilience will enable extension services to develop technologies linked to conservation agriculture that is an appropriate technology for the selected areas," he added.
By the end of the project it is expected that:
• At least 12,000 people will receive seed from community seed banks in the three districts;
• At least 32,000 small producers become seed multipliers;
• At least 300 small producers will be involved in the practice of conservation agriculture, which will total 1,500 people;
• At least 15 additional seed multipliers will be formed in other districts producing seeds for 13,500 small producers covering a total of 67,500 people.