Mozambique: FAO provides €1.7M to farmers affected by cyclones, bad weather

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Mozambique: FAO provides €1.7M to farmers affected by cyclones, bad weather

10:48 CAT | 10 Jan 2020

[Photo file: FAO]

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) contributed a total of $2 million (€1.7 million) to support 12,000 families affected by Cyclone Kenneth in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, the agency said on Thursday.

“The support focuses on the districts of Macomia, Mocímboa da Praia, Mecufi, Metuge and Quissanga, where families each receive a kit with seeds of maize, beans and vegetables, including working tools such as machetes and hoes so that they can recover their lost production”.

In addition to the families affected by Kenneth, which hit Cabo Delgado in April of last year, the FAO support, financed by the UK, will cover families affected by the bad weather that has devastated the province since late December.

“With the rain in the region, especially in the north of the province, river levels have risen considerably, damaging nearly 4,000 hectares of crops. In addition to the material support, 6,000 mothers from these five districts are expected to benefit from training in nutrition education.

In April 2019, some parts of Cabo Delgado province were hit by Cyclone Kenneth, which killed 45 people and affected another 250,000.

A month before Kenneth passed, central Mozambique was devastated by Cyclone Idai, which claimed the lives of over 600 people and affected about 1.5 million others, as well as destroying various infrastructures.

During the current rainy season in Mozambique, almost 48,000 people have been affected.

Between November and April, Mozambique is cyclically affected by cyclonic winds from the Indian Ocean and by floods originating in southern African watersheds.

In total, 714 people died during the rainy season in 2018/2019, including 648 victims of cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

Source: Lusa