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Mozambique

European Union funds climate resilience and food security in Gaza and Tete provinces with €3 million

MAPUTO - The European Union (EU) has recently contributed €3 million to strengthen resilience of vulnerable and food insecure communities and enhance the capacity of social protection systems for better adaptation and response to the impacts of climate change in drought-prone areas of Gaza and Tete provinces.

The project, entitled Pro-Resilience Action (PRO-ACT) in Mozambique, will be jointly implemented by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) over a period of three years (2020 - 2022).

Mozambique is the third most climate disaster-prone country in Africa, experiencing frequent drought, floods, cyclones, and tropical storms. With the increasing frequency and variability of drought-related shocks, national and individual capacities for preparedness to these events and their management need to be enhanced.

The EU funded PRO-ACT will adopt a Forecast-based Financing model, which enables anticipatory actions for disaster mitigation at the community and government levels using seasonal and weather forecasts. These forecasts will be linked to predetermined contingency plans, actors and funding instruments which will be used to reduce losses and damages in the livelihoods of people who are faced with increasing extreme climatic conditions.

In line with that, the project will focus on strengthening the resilience of smallholder famers to the impacts of climate change through increased access to durable assets, knowledge and climate information. In addition to promoting institutional capacity for early warning and response, these can be used in the event of future climatic shocks to assist 10,000 disaster-affected people for six months.

With aim of improving the resilience and productivity of smallholder, FAO will establish 40 farmer field schools to benefit at least 1,000 families in Guijá and Mabalane, two of the most drought-prone districts of Gaza province.

“FAO will lead the implementation of activities aiming at increasing the resilience and productivity of farmers through the promotion of climate smart agriculture practices, enhance livestock production through better access to animal feed and animal health services and the use of climate information, for farmers in particular women and rural youth”, said Hernani Da Silva, FAO Representative in Mozambique.

WFP will support the institutional resilience by developing and testing early warning systems in drought-prone areas of Tete and Gaza provinces within selected communities most affected by food insecurity. It will prioritize vulnerable populations, namely, child-headed families, female-headed families with children, families headed by bedridden individuals, by elderly people, or by disabled people.

“As shocks are becoming more recurring in nature, and there is less time in between for those affected to recover, there is a need to strengthen their resilience to climate shocks. In addition, there is an important role for local government authorities to support these communities and their resilience, which requires additional technical capacity strengthening” said James Lattimer, Acting WFP Country Representative.

For implementing the project, WFP is working with National Meteorology Institute (INAM), National Disaster Management Institute (INGC), Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (SETSAN), and National Institute for Social Action (INAS) to enhance national drought monitoring and forecasting capacity, develop early warning systems and triggers, as well as kick-start shock-responsive social protection programmes in coordination with humanitarian systems.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

Follow us on Twitter @wfp_mozambique/ @FAOMozambique

For more information please contact:

Milton Machel, WFP/Maputo, milton.machel@wfp.org Tel. +258 2148 2244, Mob. +258 823196150/ +258 842979581

Telcinia Nhantumbo, FAOMZ, telcinia.nhantumbo@fao.org