Progress in partnerships:
N2Africa-Mozambique signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The USAID AgriFUTURO (AgriFUTURO). This MoU facilitates an effective partnership between AgriFUTURO and N2Africa towards the shared objective of providing expertise on agronomy and rhizobiology to increase the use of inoculants among smallholder producers producing soyabean.
The country coordinator participated in a series of meetings:
- The Soil Health Country Policy Node meeting held in Maputo on April 17 to explore the possibility for dissemination of N2Africa technology to improve soil fertility and smallholder farmers’ productivity as part of institutionalization of N2Africa technologies.
- The launch of the Seed Sector Platform meeting in Maputo (24th - 25th April) This is a public private body formed to address seed sector constraints in Mozambique.
- A meeting with 33 agro-dealers in Chimoio (22th – 23th August) to discuss the possibility of including N2Africa technologies in an integrated packages (maize, soyabean, fertilizers, herbicides and inoculants) to be disseminated by agro-dealers.
Dissemination and training activities:
IITA’s N2Africa (N2Africa-Mozambique) finished with the harvesting of 2013-14 demo plots in Manica, Nampula, Tete and Zambézia provinces. In total of 87 plots were harvested and the data still being analyzed.
As part of institutionalization of N2Africa technologies, N2Africa-Mozambique in collaboration National Directorate of Agricultural Extension (Ministry of Agriculture), organized two non-degree training of trainers event for government extension officers in two provinces (Cabo Delgado and Tete). The training focused on soyabean production and establishment of on-farm soyabean demonstrations plots. A total of 92 extension officers were trained (87 male and 5 female).
As follow up on the MoU between N2Africa and AgriFUTURO, the two institutions developed training and dissemination material on soyabean production and on the importance of inoculants. Each leaflet was two pages. The material was developed in Portuguese, targeting smallholder farmers. The leaflets will be distributed to about 18000 smallholders form Nampula, Zambezia, Manica and Tete provinces.
Several contacts have been made with N2Africa partners involved in soyabean value chains such as the Compania do Zembe to explore opportunities for non-degree training on processing soyabean for cake as part of women empowerment.
Wilson Leonardo and Steven Boahen