Mozambique Livelihood Baseline Profile, Zone 7a

Southern Nampula Coastal (Agricultural) Livelihood Zone August 20081

Zone Description The national zoning exercisei delineated a Southern Nampula Coastal Zone, Livelihood Zone 7, covering the districts of Mogincual and Angoche, and two coastal administrative posts in Moma and Mossuril districts (see Fig. 1). The main livelihoods are described as fishing and agriculture. Closer field research indicates that using the administrative boundaries to define the zone has created a zone with two distinct livelihood types. Along the coast, the economy is dominated by fishing, including high-value species (tuna, prawns etc.). However, the impact of the ocean on the economy only extends a few kilometers inland; beyond this, the economy is dominated by cashew and field crops. It has therefore been decided to separate these zones. This profile only refers to the inland parts of the coastal districts and excludes the fishing economy.2 It is possible these agricultural parts of the coastal administrative posts should be included in the “Intermediate Nampula” Livelihood Zone (LZ8). However, until LZ8 has been studied, they are here classified provisionally as Livelihood Zone 7a. The zone covers the lowlands adjacent to the coast, the altitude not exceeding 200m above sea level. The soils are sandy and of low to moderate potential. The climate is semi-humid, Fig. 1. The Original Livelihood Zone 7 with moderate rainfall of 800-1,200 mm in one rainy season from November to March. Temperatures can reach 35oC in December-January, but are cooler in June-August, although temperatures do not fall much below 20oC. No exact population figures exist for the zone, because census data refer to administrative posts. It is estimated that the population of LZ7a is 200,000, or half the population of the original LZ7. Population density is high. The population is mainly from the Macua ethnic group and Moslem. There are no urban centers inside LZ7a, but the town of Angoche on the coast (within LZ7b) is a major trading hub, as is the much smaller town of Moma. Transport links to the provincial center, Nampula city, are reasonably good. Because of sandy soils, agriculture is vulnerable if rains are poor. The zone is also at the northern end of the cyclone belt; there was significant destruction from a cyclone in 2008.3 The zone does not have the expansive coconut plantations found in Zambézia Province, but it is common to find households owning a few palms. They

1Field work was undertaken in July 2008. The information refers to mid-March 2007 to mid-March 2008, a good year for food security by local standards. Provided there are no fundamental and rapid shifts in the economy, the information in this profile is expected to remain valid for about five years (i.e. until 2013). 2 The choice was made because, according to key informants, the fishing economy is relatively better-off in the southern districts of the province, and the threat of food insecurity is greater in agricultural areas. 3 The cyclone impact is not included in this profile, because the devastation occurred just after the end of the reference year (March 2008).

are used for tapping for palm wine or for coconut production, and their leaves are a basic thatching material. The coconut lethal yellowing-type disease has reached southern Nampula, although the scale of the impact is not yet like in Zambézia. However, it is predicted that half the palm will die by 2015. Cashew trees are widespread across the zone and in the interior zones in the province, owned and managed on a small scale at family level, with most families owning at least a few trees. However, the trees are relatively old and productivity is low, leading many to give their trees little attention and to accept whatever they receive from the trees, rather than seeing them as a crop to be actively managed. Trees need to be sprayed three times a year against powdery mildew to have significant yields. The pesticide (sulfur powder) is provided free by the state, but farmers must meet the costs of application. In this zone (unlike other zones), many larger-scale farmers use their own sprayers to spray the trees of others, taking payment in cashew nuts at the time of harvest. Because of this, the practice of spraying is quite widespread. Yields without spraying are 3-5 kg/tree, and after three sprays a year are 10-15 kg/tree. Because the cost of spraying is just 2 kg cashew nut (in the shell) per tree, one would actually expect even higher uptake rates than exist. The staple food is cassava, which is also the main agricultural crop. For more than 20 years, this has been increasingly affected by brown streak virus, which has reduced yields. Typical yields are estimated at only 3-4 mt/hectare of fresh cassava, or 1-1.5 mt/ha of dry cassava. Clean planting material is still not available, despite the fact that local varieties within Nampula Province show reasonable tolerance to the disease. Some rice and maize are also grown, where soil conditions allow. Cassava is usually intercropped with legumes, mainly cowpeas and pigeon peas. The main cash crops, apart from cashew, are groundnuts and cassava. Sesame is a newly introduced cash crop, which is being taken up quickly and which shows great promise, if world prices for sesame stay high. Field cultivation is almost entirely by hand-hoe. Animal traction is not practiced, and few tractors are available for hire. No inputs are used in agriculture, with the exception of the free pesticides for cashew trees and some vegetable seeds. Seeds are mainly saved from farmers’ own harvests. Some farmers will purchase local seeds in the market for sowing or work for payment in seeds. Livestock production is limited to goats and poultry, and these are kept with no inputs. The demand for goats is high in Nampula Province, which relies on neighboring provinces for supply. Although many families do not have much capital to invest in livestock, there is no obvious economic reason why livestock-keeping is not on a larger scale. Poultry-keeping is limited because of the annual outbreaks of Newcastle disease, for which vaccines are not easily accessible at village level. The hunger season runs from December to March, starting earlier for those who cultivated small areas and later for those with larger fields and more production. Although most food prices are inevitably higher in the hunger period, prices of the main staple — dried cassava — do not show too much seasonality. The main cassava harvest (for drying) is just before the rains are expected, and the size of this harvest is a key determinant of a household’s food security in the hungry period. Generally, the zone would be described as suffering from chronic poverty and under-development, rather than acute food insecurity. The zone is reasonably self-sufficient in food. In normal years, most households can meet their basic minimum needs, although this does not mean poverty is not deep. Malnutrition is regarded as being high in this part of the country. This economic profile indicates the zone is not particularly vulnerable to an absolute lack of food, and that households can generally meet their food energy needs, even in a difficult year. To understand the causes of malnutrition, far more in-depth nutritional research is needed. This should start with a disaggregation of malnutrition statistics by livelihood zone, and pay attention to the diets for children and infants, and the costs of a nutritionally adequate diet for these groups. This profile can then be used to see to what extent economically households could afford such a diet. Markets Broadly, the zone is neither a deficit nor major surplus area of food crops. Most food comes from within the zone, although there is some supply of maize and even cassava from outside the zone; groundnuts, cashew, and sesame are sold outside the zone. Rice is almost entirely grown and consumed within the zone itself. The main markets are in the urban centers of Angoche and Moma (although both lie outside the zone, in the S. Nampula Coastal Fishing Zone, LZ7b). Most food items come into and out of the zone via these markets. There are no problems of access within the zone, and there is good access throughout the year to these urban markets from the main supply areas of northern Zambézia Province and the interior of Nampula Province. Dry cassava is the most- traded commodity, and much of this is sourced from within the zone. Moma District is a surplus area (especially the post of Chaluaua) that supplies Angoche, a deficit area (especially because of the main town). Cassava also comes into the zone from neighboring Mogovolas District (LZ8, immediately to the west). The other main food

2 Southern Nampula Coastal Agricultural Zone (LZ7a)

coming into the zone is maize flour. There are various routes for maize to come into the zone. Most originates in northern Zambézia Province (Gile, which borders Moma to the southwest, or Alto Molocue), with the rest coming from within Nampula Province from districts such as Morrupula, Riabue, Mecuburi, and Malema. Supply in these districts is reported to be adequate, even in years when the rains fail within LZ7 and other parts of the country. Maize grain from Nampula Province and Alto Molocue is often brought first to Nampula city. It is either traded there and bought by traders from Angoche or Moma, who mill it and then bring maize flour into the zone. In other cases, it is brought to Nampula only for milling and then brought into the zone by the same traders. Maize from Gile and Alto Molocue may also be brought directly into the zone. The local traders who bring maize flour into the zone usually choose their sources according to their family or other personal connections. They usually have only one source from where they buy; this is often the district from where they originally come. Those who have no connections in Zambézia tend to buy from Nampula city. In the last two or three years, an increasing number of traders have brought food items into the zone. Many of them work on a small scale, having neither transport nor enough capital to hire a lorry. Instead, they pay per sack to transport their items. They may only trade 100 sacks of flour (of 50 kg) at a time, because they may enter the trading business with working capital of less than $2,000. (A sack of 70 kg of maize grain could cost $15 to $20 to buy at current prices, and another $3 to $4 to transport to Angoche or Moma as a 50 kg sack of flour.) The trade is obviously profitable enough to encourage traders to enter the market. In Moma and Angoche towns, cassava and maize flour are sold in small quantities to small-scale traders, who take the produce into the localidades. They may buy as little as one sack, which they sell in cups or small tins. Trade in the main cash crop, cashew, is dominated by two companies. The crop is bought by smaller traders, who function as independent middlemen, but, because they have almost no financial capacity of their own, rely on pre-financing by one of the two companies, effectively meaning they function as agents rather than as independent traders, in anything except a legal sense. The zone is the main center of the cashew trade in the country, with production from the Zambézia coast and the interior of Nampula coming in for processing or export. Prices varied considerably during the season in 2007, starting at 5 to 8 MT/kg, but rising to 10 to 11 MT/kg at the end of the season.4 Poorer households with few trees sold their crop early, because of an immediate need for cash and lack of certainty about where prices would go, and because their small quantities meant households did not think it worthwhile storing. (Even a doubling of the price from 5 to 10 MT/kg would only have brought the poor an extra 100 MT for the year.) Prices could also vary from village to village, because in any area, only one (middleman/agent) trader would be operating. Farmers were therefore faced with an effective monopoly, with only one direct buyer who had pre-financing from one final buyer. Lack of financial capital in the system is a major constraint to the smoother working of the market.

Seasonal Calendar

The economic seasonal calendar is determined almost entirely by the agricultural calendar, which in turn determines the price calendar. Harvests begin in March with green maize and fresh cowpeas, with the bulk of the cereal harvest ready in April-May. This is the time of high food availability, as sweet potatoes and fresh cassava are also available. Cash crops bring income from April (groundnuts) until July (cotton, for those who grow it). The cashew harvest starts in August-September, when prices are low (5 MT/kg in 2007). Because the food stocks of the poor have run out, they sell at this time. By the end of the harvest (November- December), prices reached 11-12MT/kg, when those who could afford to wait sold theirs. Toward the end of the dry season, in August, the remaining cassava is harvested for drying and storing as the main food for the rainy season. For those with small fields (see below, Wealth Breakdown) food stocks are finished by October or November before the rains begin. These households then start to engage in agricultural labor, often paid in food. Land preparation begins in August-September for the rainy season, which runs from November-March. This is the hungry period for the less well off, because their stocks are finished and food prices are much higher. There is some consumption of wild food from December-February, particularly in years following a poor harvest (or high prices). Other wild foods are more available at the start of the dry season (e.g. minhanhe), but in normal years these are not relied on, because food from harvests is accessible. The peak for coconuts is December-February, although because most poorer households do not own any trees, this brings little help for the hungry season. The cyclone season in the western Indian Ocean is from November to April.

4 $1 = approx. 25 MT.

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March April May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Rains Land Preparation Planting Weeding Cyclone risk Hunger (poor, low-middle)

cereal harvests maize maize sorghum Rice ground-nuts, beans end for sweet pot. poor fresh cassava dry cassava consumption greens Wild Food High supply High Consumption ag labour For Cash For Food and Cash Cashews Harvest Harvest & Sales ground-nuts Cotton sesame non-ag work (bricks, crafts)

Fig. 2. Seasonal Calendar

Unless otherwise stated, the calendar refers to harvests and sales. Green indicates food sources, red indicates cash income. Note: For an explanation of ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’, see wealth breakdown, below. Wealth Breakdown5

Wealth Group Information Land area % of population Perennial crops Livestock cultivated (ha)

Very Poor 15 - 20% 0.25 - 0.5 5 - 10 cashew NONE OWNED

Poor 30 - 50% 0.5 - 1 15 - 25 cashew NONE OWNED

40 - 90 cashew, 5-15 goats, Middle 25 - 35% 1.5 - 2.5 5 - 15 coconut a few cattle (rarely)

100 - 300 cashew, Better-off 10 - 15% 3 - 4.5 15-20 goats, 10-15 cattle 5-25 coconut

0% 20%% of population 40% 60% Note: not all the trees owned will necessarily be productive

Fig. 3. Economic Differentiation of the Population of S. Nampula Coastal Agricultural Livelihood Zone (LZ7a) Note: the names of the groups are relative to the zone only and do not refer to any poverty thresholds. The use of the same names in different livelihood zones does not necessarily indicate any similarity in their standard of living.

The principal criterion determining wealth in the zone is the area of land a household cultivates. Ownership of cashew trees is a second criterion. Ownership of livestock tends to be correlated with wealth, but it is more a result of wealth rather than a determinant. Even the better-off have small numbers of animals — rarely more than 20 goats — and only a minority have cattle. Land ownership is not a barrier to cultivation; the area cultivated depends on the household’s labor power, the ability of the household to use that labor for farming (e.g. rather than engaging in daily paid labor), and the ability of the household to recruit other labor. This presents the usual circle: larger fields mean the family has sufficient dry cassava for the rainy season, and some of this cassava (or maize) is used to pay those who are hungry to prepare fields the following season. (Cultivating an extra hectare costs 1,000 MT in hired labor or 400 kg of cassava flour. A hectare of groundnuts or sesame can earn 5,000 to 6,000 MT or produce more than 1,000

5 Each livelihood zone has a population that is not economically independent, made up of the elderly, chronically sick, and others who survive thanks to the support of others in the community. Such families are not included in this profile.

4 Southern Nampula Coastal Agricultural Zone (LZ7a)

kg of dry cassava, plus beans and other intercrops.) The brown streak virus disease of cassava has reduced cassava harvests, and the lack of this reserve food forces most of the very poor and poor to spend much time cultivating the fields of others to feed their families during the growing season. There are no great differences in the kind of cultivation practiced by all wealth groups. The same varieties of the same crops are grown, using the same technology (hand-hoe, no inputs). The basic difference is only in the scale of production, and that the better-off used the hired labor of the very poor and poor. The better-off and middle groups are more likely to spray their cashew trees and so have higher production than the poor or very poor. Because the system of paying in-kind for spraying at harvest is common, the constraint for the poorer wealth groups is not economic. With so few trees, and with many trees being beyond the age of peak productivity, they may think it not worthwhile worrying about spraying. They may also not be convinced that spraying makes such a difference. Some differences in the marketing of produce exist. The better-off obviously sell larger quantities, making it worthwhile to invest in marketing. They also have capital to pay transport to take produce to market towns outside the zone — and sometimes to buy the poorer groups’ produce, which they transport and market at the same time. They can also afford to wait to sell when prices are more favorable. This applies to cashews as much as to maize or cassava. In many ways, the constraints facing each group are similar, only at different levels. The better-off are increasingly getting involved in trade, bringing in food items from outside the zone. They are limited almost entirely by capital (and transport); just as the poorer wealth groups are constrained by capital from getting involved in trade at all. There are usually a few individual households within a village who are much wealthier than the others and who control major trade. It should be noted that the description of the ‘better-off’ wealth group in this profile refers to the definition as above, the top 10-15 percent of the population, and not to these few individuals. Sources of Food in a ‘Good’ Year (2007-2008) Unsurprisingly, those who cultivate larger areas are more self-sufficient in food and 120%

rely less on the market to meet food s 100% needs. wild food The very poor can grow 25-45 percent of 80% purchase their food, and the poor 35-55 percent. labor payment in kind 60% The top two wealth groups (just under livestock products half the population) are largely self- own crops sufficient in staple foods, using the 40% market mainly to buy food items they do

% annual calorie need calorie annual % 20% not produce themselves (oil, sugar, dried fish, and rice, in villages where it is not 0% grown). The range of foods bought is Very Poor Middle Better narrow: meat and pulses are rarely Po or off bought, even by the better-off. The diet of all wealth groups is surprisingly similar. Fig. 4. Sources of Food in Zone 7a, by Wealth Group (2007-2008) Apart from the oil, sugar, and dried fish Note: Calorie needs are taken as a population average of 2,100 Kcal/day. purchased and eaten, almost the only difference is the source of

August 2008 5

the food, with the poor having to work for or buy their cassava and maize, while the top wealth groups grow it. The preferred staple is cassava, even for the better-off. Rice is considered a luxury cereal. A broad look at food groups consumed suggests that one problem with dietary quality may be low animal protein intake. Fish accounted for 3 percent of calories for the poor and 6 percent for the better-off; pulses accounted for 6 percent and 8 percent of calories respectively. Meat, eggs, and milk are hardly consumed. One hectare could supply most food needs for a household of six in a good year. This figure is high, reflecting the low productivity of farming, whether this is due to the soils, diseases and poor genetic stock, or poor agricultural practices, or, indeed, to any combination of these. More land does not contribute more to family food, but rather to income (see below). More than half the food needs of the very poor and poor have to be bought with labor. In both wealth groups, about half of this gap is covered by laboring for payment-in-kind, and half is bought with cash, although the proportions vary by household. Because wage rates in cash or food are broadly equivalent, mediated by the prevailing market price for cassava and maize, there is little practical difference in either well-being or vulnerability. Very poor and poor households worked 40 to 80 days a year to earn 20 to 30 percent of their annual food energy requirements, or on a seasonal analysis, two to three person-days a week for six months to receive half of their food needs for that period. (On top of this, they worked a similar number of days for cash — see Sources of Income.) This indicates that one adult working five days a week could just cover the minimum food energy needs (but with cassava flour only) of a household of five to six people at 2007-2008 prices. If 2008- 2009 prices remain at double the previous year, then even two adults working every day on paid labor will only be able to meet the bare calorie needs of their family, unless day labor rates increase. (The longer-term consequences of two adults working for others every day are that their own harvests will be greatly reduced, because their only time in their own fields will be in late afternoon after a day’s work.) Wild foods are available to some degree and are relied on in bad years, but in a good year such as 2007-2008 they are not widely eaten. Sources of Cash in a ‘Good’ Year (2007-2008) Although the main income source for the zone

40,000 as a whole would be considered to be crop

T 35,000 sales, at household level this is only true for petty trade 30,000 40 percent of the population — in the upper self-employment 25,000 two wealth groups. The poorer majority do casual employment 20,000 not own enough land to produce significant

15,000 livestock quantities for sale — about one hectare is needed just to produce subsistence food. The 10,000 cashew sales poorer two groups earn most of their money 5,000 crop sales

Annual household income, M from selling their labor. About half of this 0 Very Poor Poor Middle Better-Off income was from agricultural labor. Wage rates vary, because people are always paid on piecework, and a day’s work can range from three to six hours. At 20 MT/day, the poor Fig. 5. Sources of Cash Income, by Wealth Group (2007-2008) worked 50 to 75 days during the agricultural Note: ‘Self employment’ refers to a range of activities such as selling firewood or making charcoal and bricks, and making and selling handcrafts. season to earn 1,500 MT. (Actual cash income The distinction between self-employment and trade is not always clearly varies greatly, because some people work drawn. more for food, others more for cash. The Income from farming is given gross, and production costs included as expenditure (see below). However, trade income is given as net profit. combined total varies less.) More than half of Very Poor Poor Middle Better-Off this is land preparation, which is normally paid for in cash, because it takes place during Annual 2,000- 3,500- 7,500- 24,000- the dry season, when food prices are much income 5,000 5,500 22,500 38,000 (MT) lower and when cash is more available. Overall, they work less for pay during the agricultural season and spend a little more Cash income of the very poor can vary according to how much of time in their own fields. They are more their labor is paid in-kind. A minority of better-off families also engage in larger-scale trade, inclined to earn money from non-agricultural earning an additional 30,000-40,000 MT, for total annual income of labor such as brick-making and house 70,000-80,000 MT. construction. This is relatively better-paid work in terms of income per day.

6 Southern Nampula Coastal Agricultural Zone (LZ7a)

The middle and better-off groups earned their income mainly from farming. Crop sales from each hectare could be 5,000-9,000 MT, giving the middle an income of 7,500-12,500 MT from their fields, and the better-off 15,000-30,000 MT. The cost of cultivating this land depends on the labor requirement of the crops chosen, but typically was 1,000-2,000 MT for the middle and up to 8,000 MT for the better-off. (A few with much larger fields are able to earn as much as 40,000 MT and pay labor up to 15,000 MT.) The main cash crop grown was groundnuts. Only the better-off were able to earn significant amounts (typically up to 5,000 MT, but a few up to 15,000 MT) from dry cassava. This gives a lower income per unit area, but is less labor-intensive and more drought-resistant, so is chosen more by those with large land as an additional crop to groundnuts rather than as its replacement. Cashew income is significant, 2,500-5,000 for the middle and 7,500-15,000 for the better-off. Nonetheless, this is modest relative to the number of trees reported, averaging only 50 MT per tree, representing production of 5-6 kg/tree. Yields should be about 15 kg/tree when they are sprayed, but many trees are too old to be productive. Cashew prices ranged from 5 MT/kg at the start of the season (September-October) to 12 MT/kg in December. In this zone, where cashew is taken seriously, those with more trees take advantage of higher prices at the end of the season and store their produce. Expenditure Patterns in a ‘Good’ Year (2007-2008) Typical consumption patterns of the wealth 35,000 groups for 2007-2008 are shown in Fig. 6 and other 30,000 Fig. 6b. Food purchases take up the majority of tax the very poor’s income, around half of this is for water staple food (mainly dry cassava with a little 25,000 maize flour). The poor spend about the same on clothes 20,000 staple foods (1,000-2,000 MT), but this is social serv. because they buy a larger proportion of (more investment expensive) maize flour. The other wealth groups 15,000 HH ite m s buy little, if any, staple food. Spending on non- staple food increases with wealth, although as a 10,000 non-staple food percentage of total expenditure it falls staple food considerably. 5,000

The lower two wealth groups spend little on 0 even the most basic items. They rarely buy Very Poor Poor Middle Bet t er-Off paraffin for lighting, and spend only 100-200

MT per year for the whole household on clothes.

Even their spending on soap is considerably less Fig. 6. Annual Household Expenditure Patterns, by Wealth than the upper two wealth groups, indicating Group (2007-2008) clearly that it is limited by lack of money. Note: ‘Staple food’ includes only the cheapest carbohydrate sources, such Spending on basic services is also severely as maize and cassava. Investment costs in farming are included, but limited by lack of money. The very poor spend working capital for trade is not included. ‘Household items’ includes soap, salt, paraffin, pots, plates, matches, mats, and blankets. Milling is included only 25 MT a year on education, which only as a food expense. covers the basic costs of primary school. The poor spend between 100 and 200 MT. Middle families typically spend

August 2008 7

150 MT to 600 MT. The better-off are 100 able to send children to secondary schools and can spend up to 2,000 MT. other (The richest few even spend more than 80 ) 5,000 MT on education, illustrating how tax even the better-off cannot all afford the water

best education.) Limited expenditure on 60 clothes education will tend to reduce the life social serv. chances of the next generation, investment perpetuating hereditary poverty. 40 Spending on health care shows the same HH items pattern. Traditional medicine is much non-staple food

more expensive than state health Relative Annual HH expenditure (MT staple food services and takes up the majority of 20 expenditure.6 The lower two groups also invest almost 0 nothing in agriculture, beyond buying Very Poor Poor Middle Better-Off basic hand tools. The middle spend Fig. 6b. Annual Household Expenditure as a Percentage of Income 1,000-2,000 MT hiring labor (including the value of in-kind payments). The better-off typically spend 2,000 MT. Hazards The three main hazards are cyclones, poor rains, and high food prices. Other problems, such as crop diseases, have been a reality for so many years that they are considered part of the normal year. Cyclones. The main cyclone season is November to April, during the agricultural season. The damage can vary enormously, and at its worse (as in 2008) can destroy almost an entire harvest. Damage may be restricted to only part of the livelihood zone. Cyclones occur roughly once every five years. Good early-warning systems mean loss of life is largely avoided, but there is no way to prevent damage to fields and trees. Those who earn more from farming lose most in a cyclone, which is the most serious hazard for the better-off. Poor rains. A full drought is rare, but poor rains sometimes lead to reduced harvests. There is no fixed frequency, but the probability of this happening in any year is about one-third. (The 2004 and 2005 harvests were affected by poor rains.) A greater range of crops helps reduce the risk vulnerability to hazards, with sorghum and cassava more drought-resistant, and cashew trees usually able to yield, even in years of poor rain. High food prices. The most serious economic hazard for poorer families is a rise in staple food prices. Although market purchases of food represent only a third of their food needs, price rises also affect the quantity of food they are paid in-kind for labor, so 50-60 percent of their food sources are vulnerable to price rises. (By comparison, cyclones affect the better-off more. A cyclone that destroyed an entire harvest would cost the very poor only 25-45 percent of their food, the poor a little more, but the better-off would lose almost all their food and more than 20,000 MT from lost crop sales.) Middle and better-off households purchase few or no staples. Higher prices will increase their income from crop sales. Currently (2008), world food price rises are causing high price levels nationally immediately following a reasonably good harvest for most of the country, suggesting that a new economic context may become the norm. Response Strategies The main strategies for the zone for coping with a hazard affecting food security vary according to wealth group, as follows: The very poor and poor have similar strategies — in essence, the differences between the two can disappear in a crisis. In trying to compensate for lost food or income, they have few alternatives except to increase the sale of their labor; in extreme cases, they can roughly double the amount they earn in either food or cash. Non-essential expenditure will be reduced or cut (e.g. clothing), although this expenditure in a good year is still less than that spent on food alone. They also increase their consumption of wild foods — wild roots, small rodents, grasshoppers, and mushrooms. They have limited possibilities for borrowing money, typically only about 500

6 A separate study would be needed to understand the relative importance of the factors behind this, such as cultural preferences, the lack of easy access to state health facilities, or the poor quality (and lack of drugs) available there.

8 Southern Nampula Coastal Agricultural Zone (LZ7a)

MT, which would not buy more than one month’s staple foods even at relatively low prices. Some will be able to receive some food or money from better-off family members, especially those who live outside the community, such as in town. Middle households concentrate on maintaining consumption by increasing their income from other sources. Exact possibilities depend on the nature of the economic shock and the prevailing circumstances (relative prices, opportunity costs), but would typically include increasing the sale of livestock and selling more (and consuming less) high-value food crops such as groundnuts. They will also reduce expenditure on non-essentials. Better-off households have more flexibility in reducing non-essential spending and can increase the sale of livestock.

The successful completion of and findings from this activity are thanks to the dedicated efforts of many people and institutions that FEWS NET would like to acknowledge publicly. It is thus fair to acknowledge the strong contribution of the technicians from SETSAN at both Maputo and Provincial level in Nampula and Zambézia, the provincial Directorates of Health (Nampula), Agriculture (Nampula and Zambézia), and Industry and Commerce (Zambézia and Maputo), and the National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC) in the provinces of Nampula and Maputo. Likewise, we would like to acknowledge and thank IRD, Save the Children, and World Vision for their effective commitment in all phases of this process.

We would like also to thank everyone, including the households interviewed, with the hope that the findings now produced are of use in helping institutions plan and take decisions on priority interventions to improve resiliency and reduce the risk of food insecurity in rural communities. Finally, we would like to say many thanks to our consultants, for their technical support.

i FEWSNET and Ministério de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural, Zonas De Economias Alimentares De Moçambique, 2002.

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