Mozambique Agricultural Sector Risk Assessment

Agricultural risk management is a
central issue that Mozambique faces in development, and
multiple stakeholders have analyzed this challenge,
sometimes with different terminology and focusing on varying
aspects. The government of Mozambique has adopted the
strategic plan for agricultural development (PEDSA 2010-19)
that focuses on: (i) increasing the availability of food in
order to reduce hunger through growth in small producer
productivity and emergency response capacity; (ii) enlarging
the land area under sustainable management and the number of
reliable water management systems; (iii) increasing access
to the market through improved infrastructures and
interventions in marketing; and (iv) improving research and
extension for increased adoption of appropriate technologies
by producers and agro-processors. The World Bank’s
agriculture sector risk assessment takes a holistic approach
and relies on long time-series historical data to arrive at
an empirical and objective assessment of agricultural risks
and their impacts on Mozambique. This assessment will form
the basis of the second step, solution assessment, whose
final findings will inform National Investment Plan for the
Agrarian Sector in Mozambique (PNISA). This document
considers the many aspects of assessing risk in the
Mozambican agriculture sector. Chapter one gives
introduction and context. Chapter two introduces the major
characteristics of the agricultural system leading into
chapter three, which presents a comprehensive picture of the
risks that exist in the sector. Chapter four, in quantifying
the risks that have been observed, comments on the losses
that have been incurred by the sector because of production
risks, whereas chapter five provides a qualitative
discussion of how risk has an effect on the different
stakeholders present in the sector. Chapter six delves into
the risk prioritization carried out by the team and then
comments on various management measures. The report
concludes with chapter six, in which recommendations are
provided for improving risk management in Mozambique.