The Zambezi Valley Development Agency has made more than 53 million meticals available to implement an Immediate Intervention Plan to mitigate the negative impact caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon.
Quoted by Rádio Moçambique, the director of the institution’s Strategic Studies and Analyses Services, José Cardoso, explained that the money is destined for the province of Manica, in central Mozambique, and will be used above all to help recover agricultural crops lost due to the drought.
He stressed that the initiative will be carried out during the second phase of the 2023-24 agricultural campaign, in which more than 32 tonnes of potato, bean and vegetable seeds are expected to be distributed to producers and small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The programme includes the purchase of irrigation systems with the capacity to cover an area of around 300 hectares. We’re going to benefit more than 1,400 producers in this area,” he added.
Recently, the provincial director of Agriculture and Fisheries in Manica province, Ernesto Lopes, revealed that El Niño has already destroyed nearly 18,000 hectares of various crops in the Guro district, and that at least 75,000 families (375,000 people) could go hungry in the coming months.
Lopes clarified that due to this phenomenon, the production of cereals, vegetables and pulses is almost jeopardised in the region. “There is a lack of water for the crops in the fields. The phenomenon is affecting the administrative posts of Nhamassonge, Mandei and Mungari. If the situation persists, there will be pockets of hunger in the district,” he warned.
“El Niño has also affected production in Tambara, Machaze, Macate, Gondola and Macossa, where producers have lost their crops. In these districts, extension workers are in constant contact with producers to encourage them to invest in second season production. But we have advised them to produce crops like sorghum, cassava and other tubers that are resistant to drought,” he said.
