“We have nothing to eat”: Drought and famine in central Mozambique

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“We have nothing to eat”: Drought and famine in central Mozambique

11:38 CAT | 14 Feb 2017

Lack of rain and excessive heat are threatening crops in central Mozambique. The population is already suffering from food shortages, with more than 115,000 people In Zambezia province affected by drought. If the situation continues, the number of people in need in the province may triple in the first half of this year.

Small scale farmer Marta Martinho says that the situation is increasingly alarming. “We are getting sick. There has been no rain in the last three years. It is getting worse and worse. I am old and I have never seen anything like this. It is even worse here in Quelimane,” she says.

With the threat of famine due to low agricultural production, dozens of people in the Maquival region are resorting to traditional doctors to try to make the rain fall.

The villagers say that in addition to the drought, there is a lack of food and many students have already started dropping out of school in Maquival. “The mangoes are over, we do not know what we’re going to do,” resident Emilio Paulo told DW Africa. “We have nothing, indeed!”

Mosambik Maquival, Provinz Zambézi - Landwirte befürchten schlechte Ernte wegen El Niño (DW/M. Mueia) — Farmer Marta Martinho is desperate

“We have nothing to eat”

Drought has killed the harvest, farmers say. Juca Arune says the same problem occurred last year.

“We do not know what we are going to do this year, and last year it was like this too. There is nothing to hope for; the time for sowing has already passed, and we have nothing to eat,” he says.

Laurindo Mpala, another farmer, is more hopeful that rain will fall. “I will continue to cultivate, even if the land is dry. I cannot stop; agriculture is my only activity, and if I stop cultivating the land, I will not have anything to do.”

Aid to drought victims

According to the Mozambican government, at least 115,700 people have been badly affected by hunger in Zambézia province since 2016. Paulo Tomas, from the National Institute of Disaster Management of Zambézia, says that the authorities are working with communities.

“We are supporting these victims, who are in a very difficult situation, giving rice and butter beans. I have information that in the next few days, the Chinese will donate more rice, which will also reach these people in need,” Tomas. said

The scenario is completely different in other regions of the country. In Inhambane and Gaza provinces in the south, hundreds of people have been displaced by the floods that have destroyed crops and homes.

Source: Deutsche Welle