20 December 2019, Manica- Since 2017, a total of 15,000 farmers from arid and semi-arid areas in Tete, Manica and Sofala (central) and Gaza (southern) provinces have been using conservation techniques in their fields.

These provinces are among the most affected by the effects of natural disasters in Mozambique, forcing farmers, mostly dependent on subsistence agriculture, to look for alternatives to survive.

These data were revealed on the sidelines of the meeting of the National Conservation Farming Platform held every two years, organized by FAO and PROMAC.

The purpose of the meeting was to strengthen partnerships, increase recognition and propose a road map that would contribute to increasing the use of conservation farming practices in order to align with the country's national and international commitments.
FAO technical advisor Pedro Simpson said it is necessary to increase knowledge of rural families to align Mozambique's national and international commitments.

"Drought and changing rainfall cycles are cruel realities for farmers, which requires them to adapt specifically in the context of climate change, and conservation farming appears in response," said Pedro Simpson.

Simpson noted that there is less rain and water for rain fed agriculture, which most farmers households depend on, and therefore proposes policies and strategies to improve production and ensure food and nutrition security.

"We have to make sure that the various types of producers adopt sustainable, environmentally friendly farming practices and do not compromise the resources that will be needed for future generations," said Pedro Simpson.

Since 2002, FAO has been implementing in Mozambique the methodology of Farmer Field Schools, an initiative that has already assisted 150,000 rural farmers to practice resilient agriculture in the face of ecological adversity and has considerably increased family production.

Mozambique recently joined the African initiative, defined in Malabo (Nigeria), to reach by 2525, at least 25 million hectares of agricultural land used with smart practices.

After that, Mozambique developed a national conservation agriculture platform aimed at encouraging this practice.