The Triple Resilience (3R) program is helping farmers from the Kuzuanana Kuvarime Association, a farmers group in Mozambique’s Buzi District, realize new possibilities in what the land can provide for their communities and families. 3R Community Promoter Lucas Zindoga Chissua works with the 43-member association, which has been engaged with the 3R program since January 2023. Through 3R’s support, Lucas and many farmers like him have changed the way they approach agriculture.
The 3R program’s training sessions have introduced farmers to practical approaches for improving agricultural production and responding to the challenges posed by changing climatic conditions. For Lucas and the other association farmers, this knowledge has translated into changes that can be seen directly in the field.
“With the 3R program, we learned new ways of working in the field.”
Lucas Zindoga Chissua
For example, farmers have learned methods to conserve soil moisture and reduce water loss. They have also learned about appropriate crop establishment, planting fruit trees as windbreaks, and protecting crops from strong winds and other extreme weather events.
For farmers whose livelihoods depend on agriculture, these are practical changes with a direct purpose: protecting their crops and making the best possible use of the resources available to them. Instead of simply responding to losses after a climatic event, farmers are preparing for and reducing some of the risks before they occur.
“With the 3R program, we learned new ways of working in the field. The use of mulch allows us to conserve moisture, while windbreaks help to protect the plants,” Lucas explained.
But as the Kuzuanana Kuvarime Association farmers have found, the significance of agriculture goes beyond the field.
Their experience has shown how farming can create opportunities for families when farmers not only apply new knowledge but also make productive use of what they earn. Association members have used the added income from their increased agricultural production to support important household needs, increase savings, and make investments for the future.
One member, for example, has been able to assist their family as well as working toward multiple endeavours of their own – all of which had seemed too difficult before 3R. They reported supporting family members with career training, buying an oxen and cart, and obtaining additional land for a house and a business.
These investments illustrate how agricultural livelihoods can generate benefits that extend beyond food production. The oxen and cart will strengthen productive capacity, while education, housing, and a commercial activity provide opportunities that can support the entire family over the longer term.
Multiple association members report similar positive experiences in which they learned a great deal. This perspective is shared by farmers who are increasingly applying new knowledge to the realities they face every season. The lessons introduced through the 3R program are not limited to training sessions; they are being tested and applied in the fields where farmers make decisions every day.
Lucas noted that this is where the value of the program becomes most visible. The adoption of practices such as mulching, fruit tree planting, and the use of windbreaks gives farmers practical tools to protect their crops, while the experience of members who have invested in education, productive assets, housing, and business demonstrates the wider possibilities that agriculture can create.
Since joining the 3R program in January 2023, the association has continued to build its knowledge and apply new practices to the challenges faced by its members. The journeys of Lucas and other association members have reinforced a simple but important lesson: resilience is built through what farmers learn, how they apply it, and what those changes make possible.
Lucas and the other farmers of the Kuzuanana Kuvarime Association reflect a wider shift in how farmers are approaching their livelihoods. With stronger knowledge and practical tools, agriculture can become not only a means of producing food, but also a foundation for protecting livelihoods, supporting families, and creating opportunities for the future.
The Triple Resilience (3R) program (2023-2026) aimed to build and strengthen social, climate, and economic resilience in Mozambique by accelerating the shift from humanitarian aid to long-term sustainable development. 3R was funded by the Embassy of Sweden and was 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).
