We are empowering smallholder farmers in Mozambique to improve their food security, nutrition, income and livelihoods. As part of this, we are working with a regional initiative that aims to increase the productivity, profitability and sustainability of potato value chains, with a special focus on women and vulnerable groups.
In conjunction with the governmental district health centre’s nutrition department and the Farmers Association, our project is training farmers to upscale the value of the potatoes and other vegetables they produce by processing them in different ways. The delicious array of products includes juice, chips and cake from orange-fleshed sweet potato, as well as beets salad and juice, rice cakes and juice, and cabbage juice and salad.
Below, three of the 671 people participating in this project explain in their own words how it is making a difference to their lives…
“I am very happy today, as I learned that I can use sweet potatoes to prepare many things such as bread, juices, cakes and jam. Today I feel like a ‘complete’ farmer, because I can process the agricultural products from my farm (sweet potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables) in different ways. From now on I can teach others how to use potatoes in the best way, without wasting anything from the plant.” - Helena Nfumo, pictured (red top)
“I am 30 years old and a single mother of one child. I am the secretary of Machia association and I have been working on this potato project since it started. This year, besides having a good production, we were able to sell Irish potatoes at good price. We participated in the launch of the agricultural campaign in Maputo Province, where we also displayed our produce and sold the potatoes to people from all over the province. On Sundays, we sell our potatoes at the Salamanga District Fair so that those who live in areas where it is not possible to grow potatoes can [buy some in] affordable quantities. I've already used a portion of my first potato sale profit for buying a table and four chairs for my house, and now I'm saving to buy school uniforms because in February my son will start going to school.” - Lucia Ernesto Machava, pictured (yellow top)
“I am the vice president of Caiado association. I am very happy to be part of the group that has learned to build tunnels from local materials. So, we won’t lose our crops during the dry season and we will help other farmers with orange-fleshed sweet potato crops throughout the year.” - Andre Mucavel, pictured (black top)
Read more about our work in Mozambique:
