Fighting Disease:  Mozambique

Increasing Food Production

Like many countries in Africa, Mozambique has suffered from a shortage of rainfall, and this has affected food production in the main agricultural areas of the country, the Central and Northern regions. As a result of inadequate rainfall either delaying or preventing planting altogether in Mozambique, there have been major food shortages in the southern pockets of Sofala and Manica provinces, areas of Tete, and the coastal region of Nampula. However, thanks to efforts by The Carter Center and its partners, today less than 5 percent of the overall population has been affected.

The Carter Center began working with Mozambique's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1995 to increase food security. Led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug until his death in 2009, the Sasakawa-Global 2000 Program was a joint venture between The Carter Center and the Sasakawa Africa Association that helped more than 8 million small-scale sub-Saharan African farmers improve agricultural production.

The prescription was simple: Farmers were provided with credit for fertilizers and seeds to grow test production plots. Following successful harvests, which usually exceeded previous harvests by 200 to 400 percent, the farmers taught their neighbors about the new technologies, creating a ripple effect to stimulate food self-sufficiency in the nation. In Mozambique, the program began with 237 half-hectare maize demonstration plots and 25 rice demonstration plots in four provinces. Rice is an important commodity for both rural and urban populations in Mozambique. However, Mozambique relies on imports for two-thirds of rice required annually. Continued development will be required to assist Mozambique in providing this staple crop for more people.

Diversification in crops also has been occurring in Mozambique. In addition to maize and rice, today, peanuts, cowpeas, beans, paprika, onions, potatoes, sesame, garlic, millet, cotton, and tobacco are grown. Farmers have been trained to raise the new crops with the use of proper fertilizers. For example, farming packages for maize included Manica SR and urea, and typical plots produced 55,000 plants per hectare.

These activities are working. A 2001-2002 program in the Nampula province produced maize and cowpea yields that were three times more than previous traditional yields. Peanut yields also were more than double.

Adopting new technologies to improve crop yields was only half the battle. Mozambique lacks a commercial system to make supplies available. In the past, only large commercial farms used supplies. To promote development of a retail supply system, The Carter Center and its partners fostered contacts among major chemical companies and potential fertilizer suppliers. Projects also focused on post-harvest technologies, including methods for processing and storing. Neighboring countries in the program were encouraged to foster cooperative efforts.

The government of Mozambique, encouraged by the Carter Center's successes, increased its agricultural development budget in 2004 to 6 percent from the 3 percent allocated in 1999.

The Carter Center ended its agricultural activities in Mozambique in 2005.

Read more about the Carter Center's agriculture work — with the Sasakawa-Africa Association — in Mozambique >