Maputo, Aug. 6, 2026 (Lusa) - The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) provided support over the course of a year to 5,640 households affected by armed conflict and climate shocks in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa in northern Mozambique, it announced on Thursday.
According to a report by that UN agency, the project, implemented between March 2025 and March 2026 in the districts of Mecúfi and Mueda in Cabo Delgado and Cuamba, Marrupa and Mecanhelas in Niassa, aimed to mitigate the impact of conflicts and climate shocks on vulnerable communities by restoring agricultural livelihoods and strengthening food security and resilience.
The initiative directly benefited 5,640 households, of which 3,063 were headed by women, with funding of around $1 million (€866,500) provided by the Japanese government, according to the FAO.
As part of the project, the FAO reports that more than 103 tonnes of food crop seeds, 132 kilograms of vegetable seeds, pesticides for post-harvest preservation, hoes, watering cans and storage sacks were distributed to 5,500 families to support agricultural production.
The FAO added that it has established 28 demonstration plots and trained 1,710 farmers, including 950 women, in climate-smart agricultural practices. Among other initiatives, the organisation distributed 280 goats to 140 households, supplied six motorised water pumps to farmers' associations for vegetable production during the dry season, and delivered vaccine storage equipment to the provincial authorities for Agriculture and Fisheries.
The programme also included training 703 people in the prevention and control of Newcastle disease and supporting the vaccination of thousands of animals.
According to the FAO, this support enabled families to resume farming activities.
The organisation also notes a reduction in poultry mortality associated with Newcastle disease from 85% to 4%.
The United Nations agency considers that the project has helped to enhance food security, improve farmers' ability to cope with climate shocks, and strengthen local seed production and propagation systems.
Since October 2017, the natural gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency, with attacks claimed by groups linked to Islamic State, which have already resulted in more than 6,600 deaths, according to international organisations.
The last rainy season in Mozambique, between October and April, claimed 314 lives, affected more than 1.078 million people and damaged nearly 260,000 homes, according to data previously released by the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD). The January floods alone – the most severe in recent years in several parts of the country – left 43 people dead, 147 injured, and nine missing.
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