More than 10,000 farmers are expected to be covered.

Agricultural extensionists from Changara, Marara and Cahora-Bassa districts in Tete Province were trained on adaptation to climate change in matters about conservation farming, seeds multiplication and quality control, under the emergency programme for the Containment of the Effects of Drought from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

This new practices can contribute to the reduction of the time and physical effort from small farmers.
For Hermenegildo Mulalua, one of the trainees in Changara district, the training was very productive and it will increase technical knowledge in the agrarian sector.

"The production and control of seeds are topics that we did not have much knowledge because in our district most of the seeds comes from outside. We did not have experience about the varieties and categories of seeds but, from this training, we can already classify seeds and explain to our producers how to produce inputs locally.
Mulalua also adds that some farmers in his community still insist on analysing climate changes from traditional methods, which is a challenge at local level for a dynamic production.

"With this kind of training, producers are already aware that the climate is changing and they need scientific tools. I think it will be possible to implement these practices in my district because we were gifted with strategies and techniques that will support us, "he said.

The extensionists in these three districts are now able to provide technical assistance to small farmers in drought-affected areas so that they can implement sustainable and resilient production.

For FAO Emergency Programme Officer, Domingos Cossa, through this training, the targeted districts begin a "new page in agriculture", as trainees will be tasked to share the content learned to other stakeholders in the sector.

"By providing the technical tools on conservation agriculture, seed multiplication and quality control, at local level, extension technicians will be able to spread these technologies to their farmers," said Domingos Cossa, noting that the seed shortage in Tete province is one of the main challenges and, actions like this can help in the rational use of it.

This FAO intervention is a response to the El Nino phenomenon and it is funded by the Austrian Cooperation for Development, aiming to contribute to the development of basic technical knowledge that will help reducing foreign aid in food, improve food security and build resilience in communities.

The training took 5 days and was led by FAO experts, and, in addition to Tete, will be held in the provinces of Manica and Sofala. More than 10,000 farmers are expected to be covered.