Farmers in Gondola District

Farmers from Manica Province, Gondola district in Mozambique welcomed FAO mission in support to Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in Mozambique. The mission focused on identifying priorities that promote sustainable proven innovative practices and principles of production and post-production processes (responding to the Regional Initiative 2 – RI2) over the next two years.

FAO in Mozambique has a diversified and growing programme and portfolio with excellent opportunities for further strengthening an integrated programme delivery approach. Mozambique was thus included in FAO's RI2 to engage sustainable production intensification and value chain development from 2016 together with nine other countries namely: Cameroon, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda and Zambia.

During a field visit, the mission interacted with Emília Manuel, a farmer and also a facilitator of Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) under the FAO sub-programme to "Accelerate the Progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Mozambique" (MDG1c).
Emília is a single mother heading her household and Agriculture is her main source of income to take care of her family. She is an example of persistence and commitment to increasing production in Mozambique. She is just one in a group of 20 farmers who belongs to the FFS in Gondola District.

Within FAO´s electronic voucher system to improve access for subsistence and emerging farmers to improved agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, Emília was able to expand her farm.

"I joined FAO supported FFS programme in 2013. With the knowledge acquired I increased my production and also managed to sell vegetables to restaurants in Gondola. With the proceeds, I expanded my farm and this has changed my life. I am now farming on 10 hectares, 7 hectares of maize and 3 hectares of vegetables" she said.

As the primary challenges to agriculture development in Gondola, the farmers mentioned the lack of transportation to access the market and the need to have better quality seeds for the next seasons.

"Here in Gondola we could see that the farmers are ready, they have taken the challenge of increasing production and that is a demonstration of that commitment. We are ready to work hand in hand with people of Mozambique to mitigate the challenges of food security," said the Senior Officer of Water Development and Management from FAORAF, Ruhiza Boroto.

"The country needs to increase the agriculture extension services, train people and give them the required support. We must integrate with other areas such as agroforestry, livestock and also aquaculture so that our interventions can be more effective and achieve better benefits. We also have to learn lessons from other countries regarding increasing production to respond the Agenda 2030 to end hunger", he concluded.

The Representative of FAO in Mozambique Castro Camarada said that this mission was part of the new modalities of FAO support within its programme framework to support Mozambique in the promotion of an integrated approach to sustainable agriculture and value chain development.

According to the Senior Officer for Water Resources Management Jean Marc Faures, "Mozambique is well positioned because agriculture is one of the four pillars of development in the country and it is also recognized that it includes all issues of sustainable development including social, economic and environmental components." He further advised that particular attention should be accorded to building communities' resilience.

FAO has focused and integrated its work in sub-Saharan Africa through three Regional Initiatives. The Initiatives respond to the priorities of member-states and will achieve demonstrable impact in a time bound manner, whilst responding to FAO's Strategic Objectives. The Regional Initiatives were developed based on an in-depth cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary review of regional issues.

They are:
• Regional Initiative 1: Africa's Commitment to End Hunger by 2025
• Regional Initiative 2: Sustainable Production Intensification and Value Chain Development in Africa
• Regional Initiative 3: Building Resilience in Africa's Drylands