Training and Support Empower Mozambican Farmers to Increase Production

By António Massipa

Ergrência Macário says she is pleased to be part of a farmers’ association consisting of 31 people, 16 women and 15 men, which was established at the beginning of 2024 in the Maganja da Costa district, central Mozambique. Ergrência is married to Angola Joaquim and has four children, including 12-year-old Oficial, nine-year-old Gueguison, and three-year-old twins Estevão and Laura.

“Establishment of this association was a blessing. In our community, we used to produce individually, each one on their own farm field. And the production was never enough to meet our families’ needs. Our family never had enough food or money for our daily needs,” says the mother of four,  "But then World Vision came to our community and started encouraging us to work as a group to increase production. They also taught us high-yield production techniques and how to use the earnings to support our families, especially to pay for our children’s education,” she adds.

Currently working as an association, farmers agree that there have been improvements in production, as they produce in large quantities and ultimately obtain a higher income than before, while maintaining their individual farms.

Ergrência also says that “I particularly like being part of the association because I learn a lot of agricultural production techniques, which also help me to increase the yield in my own farm field.”

“Now that we've increased production, I hope that once I've sold the produce, the money I'll receive can help meet my family's needs, especially my children's education,” she concludes.

World Vision provided technical support and seeds to 47 farmers' groups under the livelihood technical program implemented in the Maganja da Costa district, Zambezia province.

According to the Livelihoods Technical Coordinator, Saute Hanzula, the training and support provided to the farmers' groups aim to ensure “conservation agriculture is adopted in the context of climate change to increase production and productivity, improve food security and the diet of families and communities, and increase family income by selling their produce.”