Blog Post
Emergency aid in Mozambique
Mozambique has been hit by the worst drought in 35 years, caused by the El Niño phenomenon that has affected large parts of Africa. According to estimates made by the World Food Programme, this El Niño phenomenon is the worst in 50 years.
Thousands of animals are dying because they can't find water, more than 300,000 farmers have suffered a complete crop failure and more than 1.5 million people are suffering extreme famine. Many are expected to die of starvation. People are leaving their villages and looking for help in larger towns or else in neighboring South Africa.
JAM has operated in Mozambique for more than 30 years and is trying to help most of those affected and alleviate their suffering. It is anticipated that the situation will get worse towards the end of the year.
Some 80% of the population of Mozambique live off the land. In the worst hit regions, approx. 320,000 smallholders say they have suffered crop failure, which means that many people are suffering extreme famine, in particular children. The crop failure has pushed up prices for food on the markets to such an extent that many families cannot afford to buy anything.
Inhambane is the province in Mozambique where JAM mainly focuses its operations. In this province, the region around Vilcanculos is one of the worst hit areas. There is now a large-scale famine emergency in this area. Most families do not have grain stocks to see them through these difficult months.
JAM also has a training farm in this region on which smallholders are trained in arable farming. Seeds are produced there too, mainly for corn. This is not genetically modified but is highly resilient to lengthier periods of drought. Corn is one of the most important elements of a balanced nutrition.
JAM aims to focus on the area of farming so as to be able to provide far-reaching aid with support from Germany. The weather in Vilcanculos is approaching the “cooler” season, enabling farmers to grow corn near sources such as rivers where there is still some water to be found.
The following activities are being pursued as part of this project:
2,500 smallholders in the worst hit areas are selected who are already engaged in agriculture and have grown vegetables. In collaboration with JAM, small cultivation areas are created near water sources. The JAM farm supplies the farmers with the seeds. This enables them to be self-sufficient and sell any surplus at local markets.
Cost breakdown
A sum of € 20,100 is required to provide the farmers with seeds. This will benefit 12,500 people and help alleviate acute suffering.
A large number of farmers have lost their crops along with the opportunity to produce new seeds. Seedlings and seeds will be supplied to these farmers to grow vegetables and these will be planted from August/ September near rivers so as to ensure irrigation. Farmers who attempted to produce a second corn harvest lost these crops, too. The latter will be supplied with seeds to grow corn during the rainy season from November. Due to the existing irrigation system on the JAM farm, the latter is able to produce seeds for corn and vegetables
We are contributing EUR 10,000 to this project.