The Tendai Muari and Kubhatana Kova Rime cooperatives benefited from two irrigation pumps on April 17 in the district of Búzi, Sofala Province. The Búzi District Economic Activities Service (SDAE) presided over the handover ceremony as part of its ongoing cooperation with the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) in its efforts in the Beira Corridor to promote social, economic, and environmental resilience through its Triple Resilience (3R) program, an initiative funded by the Embassy of Sweden.
The 3R program’s approach supports farmers in increasing their capacity to prepare for, absorb, and respond to climatic shocks. A total of 160 families in Mozambique will benefit from the program’s facilitation of access to inputs for production in lower lands as part of the response to the effects of El Niño.
The 3R program aims to strengthen farmers’ capacity by offering them viable solutions to ensure that family income is not affected to the point that food security is compromised. As well as intervening in the transfer of agricultural technologies to program beneficiaries, IFDC facilitated the set-up of three cooperatives in Búzi District: Ngatende Kulima, Tendai Muari, and Kubhatana Kova Rime. The cooperatives offer services for the aggregation and transportation of agricultural products, threshing, links with markets, agricultural inputs, and other factors of production. In addition to motor pumps, which will have a greater impact in the face of prolonged droughts, the cooperatives also feature storage units, threshing machines, motor loads, and qualified members in the context of capacity building for institutional development.
“With the motor pump, we hope not only to increase production but also to generate income for continued sustainability.”
Sandramo Arcanda, head of the Búzi Administrative Post
Under the 3R program, cooperatives and farmers will be linked with seed production companies on a contract basis. Recognizing the importance of irrigated agriculture in the current context of irregular and erratic rainfall, IFDC allocates motor pumps to cooperatives to boost seed production as well as commercial crop production, which will serve as an additional source of income for cooperatives to invest in goods and services, strengthening institutional capacity as well as improving services to their members and communities.
During the ceremony to hand over the irrigation motor pumps and components to the cooperatives, Sandramo Arcanda, head of the Búzi Administrative Post, emphasized the importance of making proper use of the equipment to boost vegetable production in the town of Guara-Guara when he pointed out, “Although acquiring this technology was beyond local financial capabilities, it is now essential to preserve it to ensure its durability.” He also expressed his deep gratitude to IFDC and the Embassy of Sweden for enabling the acquisition of this valuable agricultural equipment.
Sérgio Cossa, 3R Post-Harvest and Market Development Systems Manager, said that the aim is to ensure that the cooperative fully participates in the business opportunity of seed production facilitated under the 3R program, as well as commercial production of various products to increase the cooperative’s income for the greater benefit of members and the community. Within the framework of the 3R program, IFDC and its partners will look for additional alternatives aimed at achieving this goal.
In line with this strategic vision, Sidonia Enosse, Director of SDAE Búzi, stressed the importance of preserving the equipment and using it for irrigation to maximize production efficiency, emphasizing the income potential that the irrigation pumps provide. She also noted, “It is important to remember that production must serve to ensure both food security and the marketing of the surplus.”
Through continued collaboration and innovation, the 3R program aims to further strengthen the resilience of farmers in Mozambique, paving the way for a prosperous and sustainable future.
The Triple Resilience (3R) program (2023-2027) aims to build and strengthen social, climate, and economic resilience in Mozambique by accelerating the shift from humanitarian aid to long-term sustainable development. 3R is funded by the Embassy of Sweden and is implemented by IFDC in partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), Associação Kwaedza Simukai Manica (AKSM), LevasFlor Foundation, União Provincial Dos Camponeses De Manica (UCAMA), União Provincial de Camponeses de Sofala (UPCS), and the International Economic Cooperation Institute (ICEI).
