General

Land degradation is a prevalent environmental problem in Ethiopia, exacerbated by the effects of climate change. It's one of the main reasons for low and declining agricultural output, as well as persistent food insecurity and rural poverty. Rapid population growth (2.5 percent per year), severe soil erosion, deforestation, low vegetative cover, and uneven crop and livestock production are all common drivers of land degradation in Ethiopia. Gedeo zone is made up of six districts/Woredas and two town administrative, with a population of 1 million people, of which 85.6 % live in rural areas. Wonago and Yirigachfe woredas, in particular, have a population density of 1329 people per square kilometer, making them the most densely populated areas in the country, with extensive land use by small scale farmers in both woredas. Due to this, access to better livelihoods is limited. Furthermore, the two woredas have been dealing with serious environmental issues as a result of a massive and widespread overuse of natural resources. Drought has regularly harmed important livelihood activities such as agriculture, livestock, water and natural resources, and biodiversity resulting in acute food shortages, resource conflict, and a severe economic blow to the local economy. Furthermore, because of the dense population, the majority of households are affected by seasonal drought shocks in addition to health challenges. The project aims to address these challenges through rehabilitation of degraded lands, natural resource conservation activities, and diversification of income to reduce the over utilization of resources. Through the project ativities climate change adaptation capabilities and livelihood opportunities are enhanced, and awareness and practices of target community on climate change adaptation mechanisms are improved. The beneficiaries of the project are people in the project area who get their living from the land as well as the officials who work for land, argriculture and environmental issues. The implementing agency is the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus-Development and Social Services Commission (EECMY-DASSC).

General

Smallholder farmers are estimated to produce around 90% of the food eaten in Mozambique. The vast majority of smallholder farmers are women. The demand for food is increasing as the population grows, but at the same time food production is challenged by extreme weather events caused by climate change. The Mozambican government has responded to food insecurity in key food-producing areas such as Nampula by promoting industrial production based on external inputs. The formalisation of smallholder farmers' land tenure has been accompanied by efforts to link the transition to commercial inputs. As a result, soil conditions have deteriorated, biodiversity has suffered, people have been forced to work in conditions approaching serfdom, nutrition has further deteriorated and income inequalities have widened. Moreover, land tenure rights are generally granted to men, while women are responsible for cultivation. Feminist agroecology and women's empowerment offer a sustainable solution to these challenges. The immediate outcomes of the project are expected to be (i) increased crop production and productivity by women small-scale farmers in Chibuto district through the adoption of sustainable agroecological production methods, (ii) active participation and advocacy of women small-scale farmers in Chibuto in the national land tenure reform process, and (iii) strengthened organizational capacity of rural women through institutional strengthening of FOMMUR. The direct beneficiaries of the project will be the 600 women participating in project activities in the 4 project communities in Chibuto. They earn their livelihoods from farming. It is estimated that 20% of them are persons with disabilities and 15% are young people. The women in the farmers' associations are expected to transfer their learning to other people in their communities through the farmer-to-farmer method. The number of such indirect beneficiaries of the project is estimated at 3 000. The project is implemented by Livaningo - Associação para a Preservação e Defesa do Meio Ambiente (https://livaningo.co.mz/ ) in partnership with the Fórum Moçambicano das Mulheres Rurais (FOMMUR).

General

In Mozambique, peasants produce around 70% of food, mostly from seeds saved from their crops. Traditional smallholder farming is under enormous pressure: population growth and urbanisation reshape markets and diets; climate change brings cyclones, droughts, floods, pests and plant diseases; soil is impoverishing; biodiversity is being lost; and industrial agriculture is marginalising smallholders. As a result of these pressures, the ability of smallholder farmers to maintain their farmland and preserve agricultural biodiversity suffers. Crop yields are projected to fall by 11% in the current decade as a result of climate change. 43% of Mozambicans suffer from malnutrition. Women are more likely than men to be poor. They are also over-represented among those affected by Cyclone Idai, which hit the project area in 2019. The immediate expected outcomes of the project are (i) women and their families adopt less environmentally damaging agricultural practices, such as reducing slash and burn, preserving native trees important for soil fertility, cover cropping, green manuring, organic pest control and composting, (ii) participatory improvement of genetic diversity through smallholder farmers' knowledge, experience and practices, (iii) more families in communities produce complementary products for their diets through agroecological methods and reduce the use of chemical products harmful to the environment, (iv) chronic malnutrition and food insecurity is at least halved through increased production and diversification of family diets; (v) families' disposable incomes increase significantly and they are able to cover education and health costs; (vi) the majority of families have secure production tools and models as they have been supported in legalising their land tenure, (vii) a reduction in production costs, (viii) the adoption of individual and collective strategies in the design and marketing of products of both plant and animal origin, and (ix) more systematic production and higher quality products. The direct beneficiaries of the project are 90 women from three local communities in the districts of Buzi and Chibabava, who participate in the project activities. The indirect beneficiaries consist of their family members, a total of 396 people. The total population of the two districts is around 360 000. The project is implemented by the Associação Acção Académica para o Desenvolvimento das Comunidades Rurais (ADECRU); https://adecru.wordpress.com/.