Denmark will fund a forest recovery programme in farming communities in the Mozambican province of Sofala to the tune of $500,000 (€460,000)over three years, with the aim of covering 1,000 farmers, the director of the main local non-governmental organisation involved has announced.
The “main objective is to increase the resilience of communities in the conservation and restoration of the environment and ecosystems,” explained Sheila Rafi, executive director of Livaningo, an NGO dedicated to the defence and preservation of the environment, speaking in Beira on Wednesday.
The programme is called ‘Kukoia’ – which in the local language means “to conserve” – and is to be undertaken by Livaningo, which plans to involve the natural resource management and risk and natural disaster management committees, as well as 80 farmers’ associations in 10 administrative areas in Sofala.
“We intend to work with 80 peasant and small farmer associations, training around one thousand people directly,” she explained.
The same NGO had already implemented a similar community forest restoration programme three years ago, supporting it with more than 50,000 seedlings of various plants, including native plants, fruit and medicinal plants.
This new phase of the programme has the support of Denmark, through a fund dedicated to civil society projects, in partnership with a Danish NGO.
“We intend to reach ten communities in different administrative posts in the Nhamatanda district… with sustainable agricultural practices, regenerative agriculture, sustainable agriculture, agriculture that will not use chemical additives or chemical pesticides,” Rafi said.
She added that, as part of this package of sustainable farming practices, the NGO’s workers will also train the community to produce organic fertiliser and organic repellent, based only on natural elements.
Lusa
