PRESS RELEASE
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The United States Announces New Investments in Mozambique’s Agriculture Sector
The U.S Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), announced a new agriculture portfolio to foster inclusive economic growth and strengthen food systems in Nampula and Zambezia provinces. While more than two-thirds of the Mozambican population are engaged in farming, they are subject to frequent and recurrent shocks and stresses due to climatic events, chronic and catastrophic health emergencies, natural disasters, and violent extremism and civil unrest, leading to high levels of poverty, malnutrition, and food insecurity.
The new portfolio of USAID programs harnesses the potential of Mozambique’s agriculture sector to build resilience to these challenges by improving seed quality, incentivize private sector investments into agriculture, funding young entrepreneurs to create jobs, and providing families with nutrient-rich foods. The new portfolio comes as part of the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future (FtF). Mozambique was named a Feed the Future focus country by U.S. President Joseph Biden at the G20 meetings in July, 2022. Investments under FtF will be closely coordinated with Mozambique’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to align with national goals for agriculture, climate, and industry.
U.S. Ambassador Peter H. Vrooman, announced the new portfolio in Nampula. Speaking at the Unilurio Business School, Ambassador Vrooman touted the impacts of U.S. Government agriculture investments. “These funds will go towards innovative agricultural programs benefiting women, youth, and vulnerable communities in the provinces of central and northern Mozambique. They will connect farmers with new technologies, practices, and services that will boost productivity, increase rural incomes, improve nutrition and food security, and build the agribusiness private sector.”
The USAID agriculture portfolio is valued at $170 million USD and will help Mozambique build food systems that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable and that foster a healthier, more prosperous Mozambique.
This portfolio consists of several new projects:
- The Feed the Future Mozambique Resiliência Integrada na Nutrição e Agricultura Activity (FtF RESINA), implemented by ACDI/VOCA, supports farmers and communities to be healthier and have more food and higher incomes. Working with farmers, this project supports climate smart techniques to improve seed quality, use drought resistant crops, and incorporate good agricultural practices that lead to increased productivity. FtF RESNIA also focuses on women and youth through use of horticulture and small-scale irrigation to diversify income.
- The Feed the Future Mozambique Promoting Innovative and Resilient Agriculture Market Systems (FtF PREMIER), implemented by TechnoServe, incentivizes responsible private sector investment, improves access to finance, enhances risk mitigation management, and expands employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, particularly for youth and women. • The Feed the Future Mozambique Resilient Coastal Communities (FtF RCC), implemented by International Development Enterprises (iDE), is focused on the coastal zones in Zambezia and Nampula. RCC creates a significant number of jobs and sustainable economic opportunities for youth and women through supported entrepreneurship and internship programs. The project also positively impacts the long-term health and productivity of critical ecosystems, particularly the extraordinarily diverse marine ecosystems that are vital to food security by increasing knowledge and improving local livelihood practices.
- The Resilient Food Security Activity (RFSA), implemented by Save the Children, will distribute nutrition-rich commodities to households in need during the rainy season, when food diversity is markedly lower. It focuses on the nutrition needs of mothers, young children, and young girls.This portfolio also includes funds allocated to help ease the adverse impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which increased the price of food and fertilizer. Support for agriculture programming is an essential component of the broader U.S. Government assistance in Mozambique. In close collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Mozambique, the U.S. Government provides more than $800 million in annual grant assistance for health, economic development, support to civil society, and humanitarian response.
Feed the Futureis the U.S. government’s initiative to combat global hunger and poverty. It brings partners together to help some of the world’s poorest countries harness the power of agriculture and entrepreneurship to jumpstart their economies and create new opportunities. For more information, visit feedthefuture.gov.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) leads the U.S. Government’s international development and disaster assistance through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises. For more information about USAIDs work, visit www.usaid.gov.
Media interested in receiving more information should contact the U.S. Embassy Press Office by e-mail: MaputoPress@state.gov.
