Synthropic Agriculture: a Strategy to foster Resilience, Climate Adaptation And Recovery of vulnerable Communities

Mozambique’s coastal cities serve as economic hubs and primary drivers of the country’s development. Due to lack of infrastructure, city planning and geographic location, combined with sea-level rise, frequent flooding and projected changes in extreme weather events, these coastal cities are among the most vulnerable in Africa to climate change. By the 2040’s, Mozambique’s coast could lose up to 4,850 km² of land and almost 1 million people could be forced to migrate inland.

Moreover, climate change has important effects on the main economic sector of Mozambique: agriculture. Cyclones, floods and droughts that occurred in the last years increased the risk of crop failure, lack of water and soil erosion enhancing the level of food insecurity and poverty in the country. A segment of population especially affected by Climate Change consequences is women in rural areas. Dry seasons now becoming longer implies a greater workload for women who need to walk much further to collect water (for self-consumption, farming and breeding), but also take care of families without any support. These activities limit women’s access to educational and employment opportunities as well as to critical information on weather alerts, affecting their capacity to respond effectively to climate variability.

The project aims to enhance the livelihood of the inhabitants of 10 rural and vulnerable communities living in coastal habitats of Mocubela District, by recovering resilient coastal ecosystems in semi-desertified and desertified areas. Through a community-based approach, the focus will be put on the creation of an integrated system of agriculture, agroforestry, fish farming and beekeeping, developed via the installation of resilient Synthropic AgroForestry systems (SAFs) and empowering women and youth in low-carbon initiatives