Senior government and non-governmental organisations officials in Mozambique in the agriculture sector meet this week in Nampula City, to analyse the success of the PROMOVE Agribiz programme since its launch two years ago.
The programme is co-financed by the European Union (EU), Germany’s Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank’s Development Impact Evaluation (DIME).
It is implemented by the National Fund for Sustainable Development (FNDS), in partnership with Mozambique’s Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER) and of Industry and Commerce (MIC), the provincial and district governments of Nampula and Zambézia, the private sector and non-governmental organisations.
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It is funded to the tune of €358 million.
PROMOVE Agribiz aims to contribute to the improvement of food security and the resilience of small producers as well as to increase competitiveness in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia.
According to the coordinator of monitoring and evaluation of PROMOVE Agribiz, Isabel Mazive in the two years since its launch there are already positive results despite the outbreak of Covid-19.
“Despite Covid-19, which naturally limited the carrying out of activities originally planned, there are already positive results,” she said.
Mazive said more than 12 000 small producers who directly benefit from agricultural extension, and more than 18 000 producers and micro, small and medium enterprises [MSMEs] with access to formal financial services had benefitted from the programme.
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She added over 1 200 smallholders and MSMEs have already been integrated into the supply chains of larger local companies while by next year, 11 000 small farmers and MSMEs will be integrated through different partnerships.
This week, the funders and implementing partners will host a field trip to Meconta district in Nampula province, presenting various activities to the Technical Committee of PROMOVE Agribiz in order to consolidate shared information and provide a practical view of the program on the ground.
PROMOVE Agribiz is part of the PROMOVE program, financed by the European Development Fund (EDF) with €358 million (equivalent to 25 billion meticais), in an integrated approach to rural development in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia.
In addition to agribusiness, PROMOVE Agribiz includes programmes in the areas of biodiversity, nutrition, transport, trade and energy.
According to the EU: “the PROMOVE programme is part of the broad commitment between the European Union and Mozambique, which is based on cooperation for inclusive and sustainable development in order to face current and future challenges, such as climate change, gender inequality and malnutrition”.
