Agriculture Markets Development in Lichinga-Balama Corridor

The DEMA-LIBA project is working in four districts of Niassa and two districts in Cabo Delgado in Northern Mozambique to improve food security and incomes of smallholder farmers. The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and aims to reach 18,000 farmers until 2022.

Most farmers in Mozambique's northern region are subsistence farmers, growing food for their own consumption. Their skill level and use of inputs are low, and as a result, their yields are low. Due to poor logistics and infrastructure, they are not well connected to commercial markets, both local urban and export. These compounding elements, with impacts of a changing climate, have led to a low income for most households, with most living below the international poverty line, and many experiencing food insecurity and malnutrition.

Until 2022, the DEMA-LIBA project has the following targets:

• Increase productivity by 50% for 18,000 farmers through the adoption of climate-smart farming systems for food and cash crops

• Increase sustainable markets and finance access for 8,000 farmers (50% women)

• Increase economic empowerment of 1,000 women as leaders, emerging farmers and entrepreneurs

• Create employment opportunities for 1000 young people (50% young women)

• Create an enabling environment for value chain development

Intervention pillars

To achieve these targets, the project will be working along five intervention pillars.

First, the project will be promoting sustainable farming with climate-smart agriculture practices and farmer-based extension services that will increase productivity and climate change resilience. The project provides practical training at demonstration plots and provides technical support to government extension agents that are mandated to train and support 200 champion farmers, who in turn are responsible to train and support five model farmers.

Second, DEMA-LIBA will also improve access to sustainable markets and financing. SNV is promoting a flexible payment arrangement to provide farmers with access to input stocks (seeds, fertilisers and chemicals) on credit, through the provision of risk-sharing guarantee funds. To ensure the model's success, the project empowers agro dealers through business skills and management training. DEMA LIBA helps the agro-business by creating demand of the inputs through training of farmers, and demonstration of the use and benefits of improved inputs.

Third, SNV is connecting subsistence farmers to contract farming options. We are supporting local agro-businesses to implement contract farming agreements that involve the provision of inputs to smallholder farmers and technical guidance for crop production through the establishment of demonstration plots, field training, and exchange visits.

Fourth, DEMA-LIBA is also establishing savings and lending groups to create value-chain financing mechanisms for smallholder farmers.

Finally, the project will create an enabling environment for value chain development. Stakeholders and private companies are brought together to discuss, prioritise, and tackle key challenges affecting the value chains through platforms established at the provincial and district levels.

SNV will also be using our dedicated products, Balancing Benefits and Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship (YEE), to address gender imbalances, create youth employment, and improve nutrition and food security status.