Climate change and its impact on agriculture in Mozambique

Good morning (afternoon, evening) listeners. Today, our show includes a conversation about the impact of climate change on agriculture in Mozambique.

First, we speak with Mrs. Esperança Baptista, a climate change expert working in the Ministry of Agriculture, and with Mr. Nelson Chaúque. Mr. Chaúque is an expert on agriculture and climate change working in the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development. Finally, we speak with Tereza Cuamba, a farmer in Mossuril district, and Julieta Cumbane from Inhambane Province.

Our speakers will give us an overall view of climate change and its impact on agriculture, as well as talk about the actions of the Ministry of Agriculture and other partners and academics to minimize the effects of climate change.

What is the relation between climate change and the practice of agriculture in Mozambique, Mrs. Baptista?

In Mozambique, we have six months of winter and six months of summer. Each season has its own crops, and some extend from one season to another. Short-season crops can be grown six times as each growing period takes 30 days. I’m talking about crops such as lettuce, pumpkin leaves, and others.

If there are floods or dry times, farmers who grow short-season crops face fewer problems than those who grow long-season crops. Long-season crops may take six or five months or more, and then you face problems related to climate. And with only a short window for harvesting, it can result in a bigger loss.

So how do you communicate with farmers?

Farmers are in the rural areas. We tune them in through rural radio stations in collaboration with a variety of government institutions and the private sector.

What is the involvement of women in agriculture?

Women own fields and play an important role. Besides growing crops, they run businesses and support their families as well.

Thank you, Mrs. Baptista. What else would you like to share with farmers, especially women, and with listeners in general?

When we talk about agriculture as a commercial activity, women are in the minority. Our message is to encourage them to do even better. We believe that any woman can be involved in farming and be active either as an employer or employee, so we encourage greater participation of women in agriculture.

Thank you.

(PAUSE) We will now speak with Mr. Nelson Chaúque, an expert on agriculture and climate change working in the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development. We are going to discuss climate change and its impact on agriculture, and mainly, how to mitigate its negative impact worldwide.

Mr. Engineer Nelson Chaúque, what are the implications of climate change for agriculture?

Climate change can disrupt production, reduce access to food, and affect food quality. For example, increases in temperature, changes in precipitation patterns, the increased number of extreme weather events, and reductions in water availability may all result in reduced agricultural productivity.

What are the real causes of climate change?

It is mainly human activities that are responsible for the increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere over more than the last 150 years. These emissions are from burning fossil fuels for electricity and heat, and for manufacturing and transportation.

Which sectors are contributing the most to climate change?

The biggest one is the transportation sector. It is responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions, which come primarily from burning fossil fuels for our cars, trucks, ships, and trains, mainly the use of gasoline and diesel.

Also, electricity production burns fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas. The industrial sector also emits lots of greenhouse gases, through chemical reactions necessary to produce goods from raw materials.

In agriculture, greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock such as cows, from agricultural soils, and from production of certain crops.

What is the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development doing to help address the impact of climate change on agriculture?

We have to deal with a variety of challenges. There are cyclical floods that destroy both soil and transportation infrastructure and dominate losses. In Lichinga and Sussundenga where I’m based, and probably everywhere in the central part of Mozambique, besides the frequency of droughts, dry spells, and uncertain rainfall, we are facing problems because of uncontrolled burning, which results in loss of food production. Small-scale farmers are the most vulnerable to the climate change disasters that affect food security at the household level.

What is your role in helping farmers?

Through debates, the press in general, and especially rural radio, the Ministry works with the private and academic sectors to circulate key information about what is involved in preventing global warming.

But everyone must stand together with the same purpose. Farmers shouldn’t burn trees and grass, or burn bushes and forests. They shouldn’t cut trees because they are important in a variety of ways, including protecting rivers and dams against floods. At home, you have to avoid misusing resources like electricity, water, natural gas, and sources of energy.

Previously, you mentioned other sectors such as industry, transportation, and others.

Of course we need to use renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuels to generate electricity. We need to conserve energy by increasing the efficiency of electricity in homes, businesses, and industry. We need to scale up biofuels, hydrogen, and electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar, or fossil fuels that are less carbon-dioxide intensive that the fuels they replace.

In general, biofuels have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. For energy, we can use grass and woody plants, agriculture or forestry residues, crops such as maize and soybeans, vegetable oils and animal fats, biodiesel, and ethanol. Those are some of the Ministry’s messages through rural radios and other kinds of communication.

Thank you for your time. What else would you like to say about our topic today?

We have to change our mentality and act responsibly as individuals. By doing that, the global community and our country in particular will be in a better position to develop agriculture.

Thank you.

(PAUSE) We will now speak with Mrs. Tereza Cuamba, a woman who farms in Mossuril district. She will tell us how she and other women understand the concept of climate change.

Can you tell us a little about your daily work routine?

My day is complicated. Me and the other women here in Mossuril wake up very early, around four a.m. First we go to work on the fields where we are hired, and then there has to be time to work on my own fields. So, our lives are a bit complicated.

How do you manage your time, and why do you have to work in more than one field?

We have to be strong and work for our subsistence. We don’t have the money to buy seeds and fertilizers and other things we need for our small farms. So, we work off the farm. And from that, we buy seeds and household things we need. Then, after the harvest season, we sell our crops, and also use them for our subsistence as we have family to support.

What are the prevailing temperatures here in Mossuril?

We don’t know anymore (LAUGHS)! Things have changed. There is too much rainfall and flooding. And when the weather is dry, it’s also harder. It’s been too hot and there is rain all the time, in both winter and summer. This is a very bad influence on our production. Our production decreased over the last seasons.

What happens in the fields?

Some production cycles became shorter, others longer. Not only that, but with the changes in temperature, we need more water for the crops. The heat is stronger in this area, and it’s a humid heat, so you easily get tired. If it wasn’t dark, we would wake up earlier and work, because the sun is strong these days. Not only that, but when the rains fall, they tend to be heavy. Instead of helping, the rains destroy crops, so we are in a strange period.

Have you heard about climate change?

We have participated in many trainings here. Students from universities and people from projects come and they explain a little about some things to us. Agronomy students help us to plant in rows, and teach us various planting techniques, some of which we already know, but knowing new things is always good. Project people come to teach us not to use pesticides and fertilizers that affect the quality of our product, and they also talk about climate change.

Can you share what they say about climate change with our listeners?

(LAUGHS) They say that rich countries produce a lot of greenhouse gas emissions and we produce little because we are poor and we don’t have much industry. These gases are emitted to the atmosphere and affect nature. It is these gases that are causing nature to be out of control and creating these temperature variations.

Do all women here understand this?

No, there are people who prefer to believe that all this is God’s punishment because people are very complicated. But I believe that now it is more difficult to grow beans and maize. We need to have a lot of water now, while before we had maize and beans in abundance with little water and work.

Thank you very much, Mrs. Tereza.

We will now speak with Mrs. Julieta Cumbane, a woman who farms in Inhambane. She will tell us how she and other women understand the concept of climate change. Good morning, Mrs. Julieta!

Good morning to you and to everyone who listens to us.

Who is Mrs. Julieta?

I am a farmer. I have worked the land since I was a child. My parents always took me with them to farm.

Can you tell us what crops you have been growing on your fields?

A diversity of crops: lettuce salad, cabbage, cucumber, groundnuts, and beans, among others. If you could see our field, it is very beautiful to see it full of green.

How do you get water to irrigate these crops?

We are next to a river, so we don’t lack water. We also have drainage ditches where we get water. It’s a lot of work, because we don’t have a sophisticated system with motor pumps to give us water.

You said that you worked on the farm with your parents. Can you see any difference between those times and the present?

My parents worked very hard. There was not much alternative to fetching water from the river, or from the drainage ditches—and at that time, there was a lot of dependence on rain. There are times when we worked the land a lot and expected a lot of food, but in the end, we had almost nothing. But one thing was consistent: the rainy seasons and the cold weather didn’t vary like they do now.

What is the connection between this and climate change?

It has everything to do with it. Today, we are not taking care of nature as our parents and grandparents did. The sun today is very hot, and the rains are very intense. And there is a strange thing. In the past, we knew that at the end of April, entering the month of May, winter began. But now, when these times arrive, nothing happens.

Nowadays, we wake up earlier to avoid the sun. If you stay asleep, when you wake up, the sun is strong. In the past, we lost several plantations, a lot of groundnuts. My neighbour lost rice—it rained so much that even the rice couldn’t stand it.

What did you do to recover?

Most of us have a farming business because have a bank loan to buy seeds and other inputs. When these weather events follow one after another, the damages are considerable. Last year, this happened many times. We also have floods and now they are more frequent. Working on the fields has become a risky job.

How has it become risky?

We are losing a lot of crops. We invest a lot and we reap little. It wasn’t always like that. But lately it has been frequent. That’s why I say it’s a risky business.

Mrs. Julieta, what have you been doing or are you planning to do?

No one can fight nature. In March 2019, the provinces of Sofala, Manica, and Zambézia and the northern districts of Inhambane were hit by Cyclone Ida. It is estimated that 600,000 people were affected, of which 260,000 were children. Thousands of families saw their homes and infrastructure destroyed and there was a loss of livelihoods and agricultural crops. This year Cyclone Ana also brought more poverty, so we are in a time where we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.

Have you ever heard of climate change?

I never paid much attention. But it is clear that the temperature has changed a lot and these changes have altered our lives. The way of working, the difficulty of predicting the next temperature—you never know if it’s going to rain or shine.

Thank you, Mrs. Julieta.

We have learned from this program an overall view about climate change and its impact on agriculture, what must still be done, and what the Ministry has been doing, along with partners and academics. Climate change is indeed one of the most dangerous enemies we have.

Dear listeners, thank you for your attention, until the next edition.