Africa, in general, is vulnerable to climate change, mostly due to its dependence on agriculture. Mozambique is a prime example. Agriculture is an important sector of the country’s economy, and, as indicated by the 2007 FAO country factsheet, around 80 percent of the population (about 19.4 million people in 2007) is employed by this sector, contributing almost 23 percent of the country’s gross domestic product ( GDP). The same report indicates that 20 of the 128 districts in the country are highly prone to drought, 30 to flooding, and 7 to both risks, which affect about 43 percent of the population overall. The population of Mozambique has doubled since its independence in 1975, though its growth has not been constant. Despite improvement in the underfive mortality rate, the country’s well-being indicators are far below the world average, and Mozambique is ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. From 1992 to 2010, after the end of the civil war and with improvement of economic conditions, the GDP grew.

This chapter serves as a first step toward implementing the NAPA for agriculture by identifying specific potential impacts of climate change for this sector.