Mozambique: Mauritius group ETG appeals to president over 'pigeon pea saga'
Photo: DW
Farmer Fernando Chicote distrusts the water he uses, claiming it is contaminated by mining activity in the region. This has already affected many of his crops.
“It affects [farming] very negatively. By watering with that cloudy water, the crops will not develop, and the animals that live in those waters will not survive,” Chicote told DW Africa.
Farmers call for inspection of companies
Chicote calls on local authorities to increase inspections and end illegal artisanal mining. He also demands changes in water collection, drainage and treatment, to ensure that dirty water from mining companies does not mix with the other water supplies.
“They [mining companies] must create a way to at least have some motor pumps that can pull that water from the rivers and open a pool. Something that makes their projects easier, so the water doesn’t mix with clean water. Because this is the water that we use for our animals and for our own consumption, not to mention the irrigation of the fields,” Chicote continues.
Samuel Tembo, agronomist and environmental activist, warns that illegal artisanal mining of precious ores, including gold, is impregnating the waters with mercury.
“This practice of illegal mining ends up causing losses to the producer. One response is to find a way to make illegal miners aware of the damage they are causing by polluting ground water,” he advises.
Domestic and foreign pollutants
Governor of Manica Francisca Tomás sees this situation as the province’s “Achilles’ heel”. And it’s not just the illegal miners who do the polluting; water sources are also contaminated by national and foreign mining companies, such as those from neighbouring Zimbabwe, Tomás explains.
In Manica, two mining companies have already been suspended for depositing polluting waste in rivers.
“There are some companies that are not very honest. They may have a water well to wash their minerals, but at night they drain the water into the rivers. Where those rivers flow, there is no agricultural activity anymore, because the waters are not fit for watering,” Tomás says.
The agricultural potential of the region is great, he adds. Production in Manica and Báruè districts could be enough to solve the food problems of the entire province.
The pollution of rivers also puts the health of the population at risk.
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