Drought response project launched in four districts of Maputo and Gaza

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Drought response project launched in four districts of Maputo and Gaza

12:12 CAT | 21 Jun 2018

File photo: Rádio Moçambique

Nearly 20,000 people living in four districts of Maputo and Gaza provinces will benefit from the Drought Response and Agricultural Resilience Project, an initiative launched yesterday and valued at about US$15 million, over the next five years.

The project covers the districts of Magude and Matutuíne in Maputo and the districts of Chibuto and Chigubo in Gaza.

Multi-functional sources of water supply, irrigation systems and greenhouses are being installed in the four districts in an effort to improve food security under the umbrella of the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC). Markets, building mini-silos in communities, boosting agribusiness marketing and training beneficiaries in food and nutrition are also included.

The severe drought affecting the country still has visible traces in the Chigubo district of Gaza province, with the lack of rain in almost every season of the year aggravating hunger and prompting the launch of the project by the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) this Wednesday.

The first stone of the construction of infrastructure was laid by the governor of Gaza province, Stela Zeca, who thanked the government for its efforts to minimise the effects of drought associated with the ‘El Nino’ effect.

“We must remember that in the last two years we have had severe drought in our province, with the population experiencing hardship because of lack of water and crops failing due to climatic conditions. We are duty bound to point out that this project represents is a great effort by the government to help people improve their lives,” she said.

The governor said that one of the elements of this project are multifunctional boreholes with the capacity to respond to the necessary demand. Dams and other infrastructure will enhance food security.

The project also involves creating drought-resistant crops, sinking more boreholes and creating alternatives that adapt to climate change, as the population of the areas most affected by drought in the past years depends on agriculture for their subsistence.

Casimiro Abreu, INGC’s deputy director general, said that Chigubo district was chosen for the launch of the project because the this district has serious problems with the water table, which has a direct impact on the life of the local population.

“This project was designed to cover the two provinces that have been severely affected by El Nino. It is not that the others are not priorities, but in the first phase we will work in Maputo and Gaza,” he said.

The project, supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB), will cover Magude, Matutuíne, Chigubo and Chibuto districts in the provinces of Gaza and Maputo, and is budgeted at US$15 million.

Source: Rádio Moçambique / O País