Zambezia is a coastal province in central Mozambique, the second most populous in the country and yet also among the poorest. Together with the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado, it accounts for 60% of the Mozambican population living below the poverty line.
In a context where the vast majority of the population is employed in agriculture, the limited development of the rural road network, the widespread use of agricultural practices that are detrimental in the long term (such as slash-and-burn farming), and exposure to devastating climatic events such as cyclones, floods, and droughts are the main factors contributing to this poverty. Among agricultural workers, two-thirds live below the poverty line. All of this results in low levels of food and nutrition security, particularly with regard to child malnutrition. In Mozambique, chronic malnutrition affects nearly one in every two children, and the risk is even higher in central and northern regions such as Zambezia, especially in rural areas.
Through the project SAFIN – Agroforestry Production Systems to Combat Child Malnutrition in Zambezia Province, ICEI aims to ensure food security for rural communities by establishing agroforestry systems, training communities in their management, launching food education and nutritional diversification campaigns, and providing tools for the preservation and storage of agricultural products.
Given the lack of female representation in community decision-making processes and in the management of natural resources—often to the detriment of collective well-being—the project includes, in addition to the active involvement of women in project activities, the implementation of a community awareness-raising campaign aimed at promoting and valuing the positive impact of women’s inclusion.
The project’s primary objective is to contribute to the reduction of child malnutrition in Zambezia Province, as well as to the overall improvement of food security. To achieve this, ICEI aims to increase access to highly nutritious food for 750 families in the target communities, primarily through the introduction of new production techniques based on the agroforestry model, with the goal of enhancing dietary diversity.
A greater variety of cultivated food products will ensure year-round availability of food and nutritional intake by increasing the adoption of food preservation practices. In addition, training and awareness-raising activities will promote the adoption of proper food hygiene practices and nutritional diversification in meal preparation for children among women and families in the participating communities.
The project beneficiaries will include 750 families selected on the basis of their level of vulnerability—particularly considering the presence of children with nutritional deficiencies—and poverty. Women and men from these households will be responsible for managing the new Agroforestry Systems (AFS), which will provide diversified food sources. Specifically, 140 women producers will be involved in the establishment of community gardens based on AFS methods; 75 women and men producers, selected among those who have already adopted basic AFS techniques in the district, will receive training on advanced practices; and 140 beekeepers will be selected and trained in the management of their apiaries.
Additional direct beneficiaries will include: 150 mothers of children under five years of age participating in hygiene and nutrition training; 210 children involved in screening campaigns, who will be appropriately referred to specialized centers in cases where acute malnutrition is identified; 20 government officials and technical staff trained on AFS; and approximately 10,000 people reached through the awareness-raising campaign on the role of women in rural communities.
It is also estimated that approximately 20,000 people will benefit indirectly from the intervention, as a result of the widespread dissemination of knowledge on Agroforestry Systems by those directly trained through the project, acting as community-based trainers.
Project activities
Project activities will focus on the establishment of seven agroforestry community gardens. Members of the beneficiary communities will actively participate in their installation, with the support of an expert Agroforestry Systems (AFS) trainer, enabling them to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to independently manage agroforestry systems in the future.
The intervention will be supported by ICEI through the provision of equipment and materials, the establishment of nurseries for seedlings and seeds, and the installation of solar-powered irrigation systems. These actions will also enable community members to apply the skills acquired in the management of their own household gardens. Improved techniques for honey production will also be introduced within or in proximity to the Agroforestry Systems (AFS): in addition to enhancing pollination of the gardens, these activities will contribute to the creation of an additional source of income for the communities. Finally, commercial linkages will be established within the local market.
Towards the end of the intervention, an event will be organized in collaboration with provincial and district institutions, representatives of civil society and the academic sector involved in the project, and beneficiary producers, with the aim of promoting the AFS model throughout the province as an effective response to malnutrition and natural hazards, particularly through the presentation of the results achieved over one year of implementation.