17 farmers attended the training in Nicoadala, Zambézia, including 3 women

27 October 2020, Nicoadala (Zambézia) – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Government of Mozambique, on Tuesday closed a series of trainings in local seed production aimed at small-scale farmers from the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia. The 2-day trainings were simultaneously held in a total of eight districts throughout the last week. They are one out of several actions within the scope of the PROMOVE Agribiz project to promote the local use and availability of seeds.

PROMOVE Agribiz, which is co-financed by the European Union, FAO and the German Cooperation, focuses on the development of a sustainable, commercial small-scale agriculture. In this context, and according to Felisberto Dimande, FAO Seeds Officer who led the training in the District of Nicoadala, Zambézia Province, "it is crucial that farmers gain knowledge about seeds in order to increase food security among rural families, but also to increase their income, since seeds have the genetic potential to increase production and productivity".

Teodoro Joaquim Mbuela, a rural extension technician from the Nicoadala District Service of Economic Activities (SDAE), who participated in the training held in this district, also sees this information as essential for local farmers: "These farmers will not only be able to produce more quantity by using good quality seeds, they will be able to help other farmers within their communities by selling them their seeds."

Held in collaboration with the respective SDAEs, the trainings reached 157 farmers in total. Among the addressed topics were basic notions on seed quality and the main factors affecting it, as well as basic principles of seed production and seed production of two specific crops according to the ones most produced in each district and/or of highest interest for the farmers. In Nicoadala, rice and maize were the chosen crops.

Isabel Calisto Caetano was one of the participants. For her, it is necessary to know which varieties best adapt to local agroecological conditions so that she knows how to make the most adequate decisions, especially in the context of climate change. Isabel Caetano mentions rice as an example. It is important to know the characteristics and the behavior of the different varieties in order to choose the ones that best respond both in times of floods and drought, the farmer says: "Where floods are constant, short varieties are not recommended. Where the land is dry, we should use varieties that grow in a short period of time [short-cycle varieties]".

PROMOVE Agribiz is part of a comprehensive approach to rural development in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia that further includes the components of biodiversity, business, energy, nutrition, and transport.
The broader programme – PROMOVE – aims to contribute to sustainable, inclusive and broad-based economic growth and poverty reduction in the context of national food and nutrition security and climate change.