Niassa Agricultural Development Project

Niassa Agricultural Development Project

The project was implemented in the Lichinga and Sanga districts of Niassa province in the north-west of the country. Traditionally local farmers have practiced shifting cultivation in the area, but there is increasing pressure to turn to sedentary agriculture, especially around the town of Lichinga, where the population has been swollen by those who fled from rural communities because of conflict. Agriculture is virtually the only economic activity, but there are some fishing villages around the lake in the Meponda area.

This project supports the government in its efforts to improve national food security and nutritional intake, and to reintegrate returning refugees and displaced persons. The project objective is to boost agricultural production in the area and thereby improve levels of income, employment and food security for poor farming households. The project is expanding cultivation into areas that have been cleared of landmines. It also increases marketable produce by improving technologies, increasing incentives for commercial production, and providing better access to markets by restoring transport and rural trade. Project activities include:

• creating a network of farmer-managed training demonstrations and general assistance in improving production rates
• testing and promoting new technologies developed with the farmers
• facilitating access to basic consumer goods, tools and materials and rural markets
• promoting community-based initiatives to improve village infrastructure
• improving road infrastructure
• constructing village water supplies and health facilities

Source: IFAD