Seeds distribution in Massingir district

09 July 2019 - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) begins this week the distribution of vegetable seeds in the province of Gaza, in response to the emergency situation decreed by the Government of Mozambique due to severe drought in 2018.

This response is part of a project aiming at providing immediate assistance to 90,000 vulnerable people in the Gaza province, so that they can produce food (horticultural) to ensure their food security.

The beneficiaries will be small farmers whose food depends on their own production and priority will be given to households headed by women, the elderly and other disadvantaged groups whose food and seeds have been lost or crops have been damaged.
The project will benefit farmers in the districts of Chibuto (3,000 households), Guijá (4,000 households), Mabalane (4,000 households), Massingir (4,000 households) and Chigubo (3,000 households).

The selection of beneficiaries has been approached in close collaboration with local government, local community-based organizations, local and traditional authorities and NGOs.

According to an analysis made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MASA), through the Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (SETSAN) and, based on a survey conducted from August to September 2018, 1,780,512 people were in food crisis.

The analysis also showed that in Gaza, the worst affected province, about 38% of households had moderate to weak food consumption rates, compared with 25% in Tete and 24% in Inhambane.

The main causes of the situation were poor agricultural production due to insufficient, irregular and late onset of rains, high incidence of pests and diseases in crops, causing insufficient food reserves in the households and rising prices of staple foods.
This is a project funded by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in $ 800,000.