The FFS members were encouraged to continue participating in the vaccination campaign

Representatives from the Belgian embassy in Maputo and the Belgian Fund for Food Security (BFFS) have visited two Farmer Field Schools (FFS) – one with agriculture and the other with livestock activities on a trip to Gaza Province, in the South of Mozambique. On this trip, which ended on Friday (13/03), they also accompanied FAO trained technicians as they were vaccinating chickens against Newcastle disease. The visited activities are part of the five-year 'Programme on Food Security and Nutrition', financed by the BFFS, implemented by five partners – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and two Belgian non-governmental organizations (FOS and DISOP) – and coordinated by the Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (SETSAN). With this programme, the partners aim to promote the food security and nutrition of vulnerable households in six districts of Gaza Province.

The goal of the trip of the Belgian delegation was to follow up on the implementation progress of the programme and to attend the annual meeting of the partners. The visit coincided with the first local vaccination campaign against Newcastle disease, and so the official launch of the campaign took place while the delegation was present.

Carol Durieux from the BFFS and representing the delegation, recognized, "the enthusiastic participation of the community in the vaccination exercise" and appealed to the FFS members to continue "participating in the programme's activities and benefitting from them in order to enhance the food security" of their families.

The FFS members presented the activities of the school and their production in the field. Francisco Massingue, the President of the FFS in the village of Ndonga, Guijá District, said that "since this FFS was created, the group learned a lot through experience sharing". At the vaccination exercise, he confirmed that "without this support, most chickens in the community wouldn't be vaccinated and the mortality rate would be much higher because of Newcastle disease".

Several trainings have already been conducted within this project benefitting technicians from the District Services of Economic Activities (SDAE), farmers in the capacity of FFS and community facilitators. Other refresher courses have also taken place for livestock technicians and extension workers responsible for the planning and execution of vaccination campaigns.