| Zambezia and Nampula are the provinces with the highest poverty rates in Mozambique, with 62 and 65% of the population below the poverty line respectively (World Bank, 2018) and they also have the highest rates of chronic child malnutrition in the country. These provinces also have the highest correlation between poverty rates and forest loss, including miombo and mangrove, mainly due to the conversion of forests to agricultural land.
The poor diversification of crops and the use of traditional agricultural techniques increase the vulnerability of the local population and make it needed an improvement of production methods and the diversification of livelihood sources are evident. For this reason, project ETHAKA – A sustainable agricultural production and consumption model for climate resilience and food and nutrition security aims to promote agricultural techniques to foster the resilience of local communities such as Agro-Forestry Systems (SAF) and agroecology and to respond to the diversification needs of the community’s livelihoods through the development of alternative income-generating activities based on local potential as well as reducing post-harvest losses by strengthening skills. It also intends to respond to the problem of malnutrition by improving knowledge on nutritional needs and the importance of a varied diet. To these identified needs, is added the necessity for a development strategy based on a sustainable agriculture approach, capable of combining agricultural needs with environmental ones on an institutional level. The initiative addresses these needs by promoting a capacity-building program aimed at officials and technicians of public authorities, in order to make them able to provide quality support to farmers, besides being the driving force for advocacy actions aimed at influencing agricultural and environmental policies at municipal, provincial and national level, in favor of an agricultural model in balance with the environment. The beating heart of this component will be the creation of a “Center for Innovation, Dissemination and Lifelong Learning in Agro-Forest Systems (CISAF)”, which will support innovation and encourage opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. The intervention, which involves public authorities of the two provinces as partners to guarantee its institutional sustainability, intends to offer an answer to the limited availability and agricultural and food diversification. The intervention strategy is aimed at contributing to achieving food security, improving nutrition and increasing the income of the population of Mozambique – both in rural and urban areas – and is based on adoption at institutional and community level (families) of an agricultural model of sustainable, resilient production and consumption that meets the nutritional needs of the population. |
– Families of small-scale food producers in the intervention territories – in particular women and young people – increase, diversify and add value to agricultural production according to a circular approach based on agroforestry systems
– Municipal, provincial and national institutions promote public policies based on the proposed model of sustainable agriculture and food systems
– Families in the intervention areas – in particular adolescent, pregnant and lactating girls and children under 5 years of age – have access to a nutritious and safe diet and to healthy and proximity agricultural products
34.161 people (of which 16.380 women) direct beneficiaries distributed as follows:
- children <5 years old: 1600 (of which 832 females)
- school-age population 6-14 years old: 7839 (of which 3628 females)
- young population 15+/29 years old: 11809 (of which 6562 females)
- adult population 29+ years old: 12913 (of which 5646 females)
1.351.777 indirect beneficiaries
Project activities
To achieve the set goals, the following main activities will be promoted:
- Analysis of community climate vulnerability and resilience actions for mangrove conservation
- Promotion of climate-resilient agricultural production systems in rural and urban areas
- Diversification and sustainable enhancement of productive activities complementary to agricultural activities
- Storage and processing of food for preservation, consumption and sale
- Establishment of a “Center for Innovation, Dissemination, and permanent training in Agro-forestry Systems – CISAF”
- Capacity building at provincial and national levels on Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems
- Advocacy for Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems (including Urban Food Policy)
- Awareness campaign on good nutrition practices and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
- Promotion of good nutrition and hygiene practices in primary and secondary educational institutions
- Screening and support for cases of child malnutrition