25 agricultural extension officers from Gaza Province were trained

Verónica Alberto Tsandzane is one of 25 agricultural extension officers from Gaza Province, who this week completed in Chokwé, Gaza, a train of trainers in the Farmer Field School (FFS) methodology with a focus on climate change adaptation. The activity was carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the National Directorate of Agricultural Extension (DNEA) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MASA). Together with the officers from five District Services of Economic Activities (SDAEs) from Gaza, one focal point from the Gaza Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Food Security (DPASA), five extension officers from Inhambane, one officer from DNEA and two from FAO also attended the event.

The training is part of a wide capacity building strategy covering 100 agricultural extension officers from the provinces of Gaza, Manica, Sofala, and Tete, where the project "Strengthening capacities of agricultural producers to cope with climate change for increased food security through the Farmer Field School approach", financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by FAO, in support of the Government of Mozambique, is being implemented.

"The production of gardens in bags and tyres, for instance, are among the practices I have learnt in the training, which perfectly fit into our reality", the agricultural extension officer from Chicualacuala District Verónica says. Taking into consideration that Mozambique is one of the countries most affected by climate change, having recently been ravaged by two cyclones, while facing protracted droughts in some areas, "FAO aims to provide both the Government and farmers with the necessary knowledge for their adaptation to climate change, reducing their vulnerability to extreme climate shocks", the FAO project coordinator Pedro Simpson Jr. says.

At the training closing at the Gaza Polytechnic Superior Institute (ISPG), the Head of the DPASA Agricultural Extension Department Micas Bila reminded participants of the severe droughts that have affected the province "causing serious problems to food security by reducing food crop production and the availability of food of animal origin".

In Gaza Province, the FAO project supports farmers from 5 districts: Guijá, Mabalane, Mapai, Chicualacuala, and Chigubo.