10/05/2019
The World Bank is backing a joint FAO-Government of Mozambique agricultural recovery plan that is working to restore livelihoods in the country’s central provinces in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai. The effort aims to reach over 150 000 farming and pastoral households in the provinces of Manica, Sofala, Tete and Zambézia, which suffered some of the heaviest fallout after what was the most intense cyclone to ever hit southern Africa.
“The beneficiaries are among Mozambique’s most vulnerable households, and desperately need to get back to their farms and start producing their own food again,” said FAO’s country representative, Olman Serrano. A first phase of the recovery plan is already underway through distributions of seeds and tools across the hardest-hit regions ahead of the second (winter) season, which is starting now.
The new World Bank funding will support a second phase, focused on ensuring a successful start to September’s 2019/2020 main agricultural season. An estimated 110 000 farming households will receive seed and tool packages, while another 40 000 livestock-reliant families will benefit from a largescale vaccination campaign that will provide critical healthcare to 112 000 cattle and more than 1 million small ruminants.
Under phase one of the FAO-Government response, some 18 000 seed and tool packages have already been distributed to cyclone-affected farmers, thanks to funding from the Governments of Austria and Belgium. Of the USD 19 million that FAO has appealed for to restore flooded lands and shattered infrastructure, nearly one-quarter – USD 4.5 million – is still unfunded.
“Almost two months after Idai and with Cyclone Kenneth further impacting rural livelihoods in the north, this gap urgently needs to be filled. If Mozambique’s farmers are not able to take advantage of the upcoming secondary and primary growing seasons, then we will have a long-term food security crisis on our hands,” FAO’s Serrano said.
Source : Fao
