LUSA 05/27/2026

Lusa - Business News - Mozambique: FAO wants over €92M to assist 1.8M climate-affected people by 2031

Maputo, May 26, 2026 (Lusa) – The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) needs US$107.660 million (€92.463 million) to support approximately 1.8 million Mozambican people affected by climate events until 2031.

FAO said in a report released Monday that severe floods struck Mozambique earlier this year, "severely disrupting the country's agrifood systems and damaging crops, livestock, fisheries, and critical agricultural infrastructure in some of the most productive areas."

The Rome-based UN agency said that the crisis affected more than 724,000 people and damaged around 440,000 hectares. The economic consequences remain substantial, with total damage and losses estimated at 30.4 billion meticais (€490 million). The agricultural sector accounts for nearly 73% of total losses.

"Gaza and Maputo provinces suffered the greatest damage, where many rural households lost not only their current agricultural production but also the tools that sustain their livelihoods and food security over time," the document says.

It is guiding its response in Mozambique through a set of complementary plans that coordinate short-term interventions with long-term recovery and resilience strategies to face the climate crisis.

"The Mozambique Emergency and Resilience Plan, 2026-2028, provides the comprehensive framework for FAO's emergency and resilience programme and requests US$79 million [€67.8 million] over three years, including US$38 million [€32.6 million] to assist 1.3 million people in 2026," the agency said.

It launched the appeal "Mozambique: Floods - Urgent Appeal for Assistance" in response to the floods recorded in recent months. This initiative serves as an addendum to the Emergency and Resilience Plan, to meet immediate post-disaster needs, with the organisation seeking to mobilise US$27.9 million (€23.9 million) to support around 620,000 people until June 2026.

Funding of US$107.66 million to assist 1.8 million people between June 2026 and December 2031 will address needs in priority areas of Gaza and the provinces of Maputo, Sofala, Inhambane, Manica, Tete, and Nampula.

It explained that it developed the five-year Flood Recovery Plan as part of the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, a government-led multi-sectoral mechanism to support Mozambique's long-term recovery and resilience goals.

Mozambique remains one of the countries most severely affected by global changes, cyclically facing floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs annually from October to April.

The death toll in the current rainy season has risen to 289, and the number of affected people has surpassed 1 million since October, based on a new update from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD).

INGD figures show four additional deaths recorded in 24 hours, bringing the total number of affected people to 1,004,346 (an increase of 50,000 compared to the previous report) in the current rainy season, corresponding to 229,051 families. The report also accounts for 15 missing persons and 349 injured people.

 

LCE/RYOL // AYLS

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