"I want to make my daughter's dream come true"
18 August, Pemba, Mozambique – Anli Nicolau wants a better future for his daughter. Like any other parent, he wants the best for his family. A father of four children, with Maria being his youngest at 20 years old, he is a member of the host community of Nacuta, Metuge District in Cabo Delgado Province.
Like many of the people living in northern Mozambique, he feels the impact of the complex crisis affecting the region in his and his community's livelihoods. Since 2017, attacks by non-state armed groups have affected Cabo Delgado Province.
"Many people were welcomed here in the community who fled the violence from the north; if it weren't for the help to plant at the right time with quality seeds, I don't know how everyone would have enough food to eat", says Anli with a smile on his face as he shows his own products at a fair organized by the Government of Mozambique and FAO in his community.
At least 1.5 million people in northern Mozambique need life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian assistance and protection due to the continued impact of conflict, violence and insecurity in Cabo Delgado Province alone. Over half of them are children and more than 60 per cent of adults are women, who fled horrific brutality in search of safety. A total of 800,000 are internally displaced people.
Agriculture saves lives
Around 80% of people in Cabo Delgado rely on agriculture to survive. This includes dairy animals and fish that nourish children daily and crop harvests that supply families with staple food for the year.
With FAO's support, the Government of Mozambique is helping internally displaced and host communities to protect and restore their own food production, increasing their livelihood's resilience against the complex crisis affecting northern Mozambique and giving them hope and dignity.
In the case of Anli, this hope comes in the form of farming tools, vegetable seeds and technical assistance, provided by the Government of Mozambique with the support of FAO.
"If it weren't for the support with the seeds, I wouldn't be able to plant my vegetables and do business to support my family", says Anli Nicolau.
The provision of agricultural inputs and good practices knowledge in support of IDPs and host communities aims to increase productivity, access to healthy diets, promote the consumption of nutritious food and provide opportunities for income generation and diversification to cover other non-food needs of the household members.
Anli has been able to plant a diverse range of crops including lettuce, kale, peppers, tomatoes, onions and pumpkin in his field. This not only provides him with self-sufficiency and food and nutrition security but generates a sustainable livelihood as he sells the surplus of his production at the central market in Pemba City, the capital of Cabo Delgado Province.
"Very early in the morning, I take transport to the central market in Pemba City to sell my produce; With the money I earn I am able to provide for my family, save a little bit and give my daughter a better chance in the future", comments Anli.
"My daughter wants to be a doctor, someone with a diploma, with an education", he says. "I want to make my daughter's dream come true and with this support I received with the seeds I am making it a reality".
FAO's emergency and resilience work
Building the resilience of vulnerable rural populations in fragile contexts such as conflicts and extreme climate events, through agrifood systems transformation, is a key priority for FAO.
FAO's emergency and resilience work is multisectoral, encompassing all aspects of agriculture: crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry, ensuring a peaceful and sustainable management of natural resources and supporting a value chains approach.
Between January and July 2023, FAO was able to deliver agricultural inputs for approx. 50,000 internally displaced people, host community and returnees in Cabo Delgado Province alone. The timely provision of seeds, tools and technical assistance and the planting of crops produces enough nutritious food to guarantee self-sufficiency for three to six months for an average household of five.
"FAO's technical support to local actors has improved the quality of services offered to farmers, resulting in increased yield and production for internally displaced people and host communities," says Reine Anani, FAO Emergency and Resilience Coordinator and Head of the Pemba Field Office.
"This support included agricultural inputs , reinforced by training, including the capacity strengthening of district extensionists", continues Reine Anani. "As a result, households' food and nutrition security has been improved, as well as income generated for their self-reliance."
FAO's Strategic Framework 2022-2031 is driving the transformation of agrifood systems, aligning with the 2030 Agenda. This commitment to better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life echoes in stories like Anli Nicolau's, where FAO's efforts have made a profound impact.
Yet, more action is needed. To extend the life-changing assistance to over 800,000 IDPs in 2023, FAO and its partners urgently require USD 35.3 million.
This article is co-authored by FAO and UN in Mozambique and first published on https://mozambique.un.org/