Mozambique: Agreement signed on WFP financial support – AIM report

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Mozambique: Agreement signed on WFP financial support – AIM report

1:49 CAT | 28 Sep 2019

Photo: WebMais TV

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will finance the Mozambican agriculture sector to the tune of 300 million dollars to improve the country’s food security and nutritional situation, as well as its resilience in the face of climate change.

The WFP representative in Maputo, Karin Manente, and Agriculture Minister Higino de Marrule signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect in Maputo on Thursday. The memorandum formalises implementation of a strategy which began in 2017 and is designed to last for five years.

According to Manente, the memorandum will guarantee the expansion of humanitarian assistance and will support the efforts and policies of the government in the fight against hunger, particularly in the areas hit by cyclones Idai and Kenneth earlier this year.

Cyclone Idai struck the central provinces on 14 March, with a particularly devastating impact on Sofala. Cyclone Kenneth hit the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula on 25 April.

In addition, Manente said, parts of southern Mozambique are still suffering the effects of prolonged drought.

“In the pre- and post-disaster period, we worked hard on preparation, response and recovery”, she continued, “but we think it is fundamental to work together in building resilience, so that the communities themselves can be strong and have the capacity to respond to natural disasters”.

Manente said that half of the sum involved has already been channelled to the Agriculture Ministry to put into practice activities aimed at increasing agricultural production and productivity.

For his part, Marrule said the government is working on a Strategic Plan aimed at eliminating hunger by 2030, but the effects of the natural disasters that have struck Mozambique limit its food production capacity.

Marrule said his Ministry will concentrate its effort on what he regarded as priority areas – namely nutrition, food security, vulnerability analysis and response to emergencies, resilience and adaptation to climate change.

He added that the WFP financing will allow continued support to the Agricultural Markets System (SIMA), a platform for collecting and analysing the prices of agricultural products, and guiding businesses in the agricultural sector on the methods they should observe in marketing their goods.

Source: AIM