LIVELIHOODS BASELINE PROFILES Zambezi Basin, Mozambique A SPECIAL REPORT BY THE FAMINE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS NETWORK (FEWS NET) November 2010 1 LIVELIHOODS BASELINE PROFILES Zambezi Basin, Mozambique A SPECIAL REPORT BY THE FAMINE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS NETWORK (FEWS NET) Contract No. AFP-I-00-05-00027-00 Task Order 7 November 2010 The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. 2 Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 4 Zambezi Valley Livelihood Zone ..................................................................................................... 5 Semi-Arid Northern Zambezi Valley Livelihood Zone .................................................................. 10 Intermediate Chiuta and Chifunde Livelihood Zone .................................................................... 17 Cahora Bassa Dam-South Livelihood Zone .................................................................................. 24 Chioco and Changara Semi-Arid Livelihood Zone ........................................................................ 32 Semi-Arid Northern Manica Interior Livelihood Zone ................................................................ 40 Central Sofala and Eastern Manica Livelihood Zone ................................................................... 48 Mukumbura Livelihood Zone ....................................................................................................... 53 Chinde Delta, Luabo Sub-livelihood Zone .................................................................................... 61 River Shore and River Valley Livelihood Zones ............................................................................ 69 3 Acknowledgements The following Livelihood Baseline Profiles for zones in the Zambezi Basin, Mozambique were developed in order to build upon existing Mozambique livelihoods information to meet the growing information and analytical requirements of USAID, the government, and other key decision-making bodies. The baseline profiles in this report are derived from two sets of fieldwork. Most profiles present information from baselines data collection that was carried out in 2010 in collaboration with the Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (SETSAN), National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) and faculty members and students from Universidade Técnica de Moçambique (UDM). These baselines have been incorporated into Livelihood Impact Analysis Spreadsheets (LIAS), which are designed for modeling the impacts of shocks in early warning scenario analysis and to inform disaster risk reduction strategies. Baselines information for these zones is included in the Zambezi Basin Atlas, which will be published in 2011. Baseline profiles for Chinde Delta and River Shore/River Valley Livelihood Zones, which are the last profiles in the document, present information from baseline data collection that was undertaken in July of 2008. Baseline data collection in 2008 was carried out with the assistance of IRD, Save the Children, and SETSAN Zambézia. 4 Mozambique Livelihood Baseline Profile, Zone 16 1 Zambezi Valley Livelihood Zone June 2010 Zone Description The Zambezi Valley livelihood zone includes parts of Tambara, Caia, Chemba, Marromeu Mutarara, Morrumbala and Mopeia Districts along the Zambezi River, as well as the northern part of Cheringoma District. It is a relatively highly populated zone, divided into 14 administrative units. The average altitude is about 200 meters above sea level and annual rainfall is low to moderate and received in the period of November to March. The main natural resources that are available in the zone are cultivable land, rivers including the Zambezi River, and a large expanse of forest where hunting is practiced and timber is exploited. Plains and grasslands cover a large part of the topography. The vegetation includes grass, mixed indigenous trees, shrubs, and bushes favorable for goats and pigs. The agricultural season starts with land preparation in August-September, before the start of the rains, and continues through the main harvest period in April-May. Crop production is largely dependent on rain-fed agriculture and land preparation is done using hoes. The main staple food crops are maize, sorghum and beans and the principal crops sold are sesame and maize. Sesame requires large amounts of labor in the phase of production from land preparation through to harvesting. The main type of crop pest or disease is red locusts, affecting mainly maize and sorghum. Locusts are treated using traditional methods (fumes). Goats, pigs and chicken are the main livestock reared. The method for feeding animals is free browsing or grazing. The main sources of water for livestock are small rivers and ponds in the wet season and major rivers in the dry season. Cattle and goats are rarely milked for human consumption. Goats and pigs are used as important income sources and are sold mostly at the age of 8-12 months. The sale of animal skins is not common; rather skins are kept and used by households for different purposes. Breeding females are replaced from within the herd. Children above seven, mostly boys, are responsible for looking after livestock. The livestock diseases common in the area are Newcastle and swine pests. Chickens are affected by Newcastle disease almost every year. TheMen zone and iswomen dependent are engaged mainly on in cropagricultural production labor from August to December. The source of seasonal agricultural andwork to is a mainly from within the community where the very poor and poor wealth groups are employed by middle and better-off households. In bad years, casual laborers seek employment at the Marromeu Sugar Factory. Markets lesser extent on livestock production. Mainly the 1 poor and Field very work poor for this wealth profile groupswas undertaken are dependent in May 2010. The information presented refers to March 2009 to February 2010, a below average year for food security by local standards. Provided there are no fundamental and rapid shifts in the economy, on cropthe production, information inwhile this profile the middleis expected and to remainbetter valid- for at least five years (i.e. until at least 2015). All prices referred to in off wealththe document groups are are for thesupported reference yearby. livestock production in addition to crop production. 5 Generally market access is good during the dry season and difficult during the rainy season (November- March). Road infrastructure is poor and most areas are inaccessible in the rainy season. Most villages lack storage and traders lack adequate capital to expand trade. The main crops sold in the market are maize, sesame and beans. These crops, and livestock, are traded from local markets to district towns and on to big markets in urban centres. Marketing centers include Marromeu, Caia, Chemba, Nhamayabue and Inhamgoma. Most small traders buy directly from producers’ fields and supply local markets from these as well as commodities transported from Alta Zambezia. Traders purchase less from this zone during the lean period due to increased producer prices and difficult roads. More than 90% of total casual labor income in the zone is agricultural and is performed locally, while less than 10% comes from the Marromeu Sugar Factory. Cotton is purchased by Dunavant in Chemba (which also provides inputs to farmers on credit) and minimum prices are set by the government. There are large fluctuations in prices seasonally. The price of maize can rise by 50 MT per 17.5 kg within six months. The major market constraint is availability of finance and credit for working capital. Excluding Caia District, there are no bank facilities. Seasonal Calendar Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Seasons Dry season Rainy season Legend Livestock sales Cattle milk production Maize Sorghum Millet Cowpeas Seasame Peanut Cotton Agricultural labor Lean period Fishing peak Malaria Diarrhoea Harvest Planting Land preparation GH Green harvest There are two seasons in this livelihood zone: the rainy season (periodo chuvoso) from November to March and the dry season (periodo seco) from May to September. The consumption year starts with the green harvest in March and ends one year later in February. The short-cycle crops grown are cowpeas (from December to April) and groundnuts (from December to May) and long-cycle crops are maize (from October to April/May) and sorghum (from December to April/May). The main cash crop in this livelihood zone is sesame, which is planted in January and harvested in May. In most cases maize and sorghum are intercropped with cowpeas and groundnuts, while sesame, sweet potato and cotton are planted as single stands. The hunger/lean period is from October to February. Diseases like malaria and diarrhoea also peak during this period. Some poor and middle households do small amounts of fishing in November – February, but they use traditional fishing methods and this is not a significant source of food or cash income. 6 Wealth Breakdown Wealth Groups Characteristics Land area Land area cultivated HH size Crops cultivated Livestock Holdings cultivated (ha) with cash crops (ha) Maize, sorghum, beans, sweet Very Poor 4-6 0.5 - 1.5 0 - 0.5 Chicken 1-4 potato, sesame Maize, sorghum, beans, sweet Goats 0-4 Poor 6-8 1 - 2 0.25 - 0.75