June 1 2022, Nampula City (Nampula) – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Nampula Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries (DPAP) on Wednesday (01.06.) signed a Letter of Agreement to provide monitoring and supervision services for the implementation of the activities carried out by the District Services of Economic Activities (SDAEs) under the implementation of the PROMOVE Agribiz program in this province.

Co-financed by the European Union (EU), the German Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and FAO, PROMOVE Agribiz is implemented in Nampula and Zambézia provinces by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, FAO, the Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) of the World Bank, and the National Fund for Sustainable Development (FNDS). Operating in partnership with the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER) and Industry and Trade (MIC), the programme aims to contribute to the improvement of food security and resilience of smallholders as well as to the increase in rural competitiveness in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia. All its activities are executed in close coordination with the provincial and district governments of the two provinces, the private sector, and civil society.

At this morning's event, the Governor of Nampula Province, Manuel Rodrigues, praised the initiative, encouraging other government partners to "follow FAO's example in decentralizing resources for governance" and calling for "transparency in the use of resources and their effective application by DPAP to achieve the programme's objectives and milestones."

For his part, the Provincial Director, Ernesto Joel Pacule, showed himself motivated: "With the resources made available by FAO, the sector will be equipped with the capacity to monitor the programme in an integrated way and to share the results and lessons learned from good agricultural practices at provincial level," he said during the event.

The Letter of Agreement signed this morning falls within the context of PROMOVE Agribiz, which aims to diversify and increase agricultural, livestock and agroforestry production, with the ultimate goal of improving food security and nutrition as well as economic growth of rural areas in the five districts covered by FAO in Nampula Province, namely Angoche, Mogovolas, Meconta, Ribaué, and Malema. To this end, it is intended to contribute to the access to rural extension services, improved agricultural inputs and potential value chain markets in the province.

Also present at the signing ceremony of the LoA, FAO Coordinator of Nametil hub, which covers the districts of Angoche, Mogovolas and Meconta, Estêvão Conjo, said he believed that "this instrument will be very useful in guiding the partnership with the government for a transparent monitoring of activities undertaken by FAO under the programme in the province.

PROMOVE Agribiz is part of the PROMOVE programme, financed by the European Development Fund (EDF) with 358 million euros (equivalent to 25 billion meticais), in an integrated approach to rural development in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia, which, besides agribusiness, includes programmes in the areas of biodiversity, nutrition, transport, trade, and energy.