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July 4, 2019

Exploring collaboration for improved livelihood of small-scale farmers in Nacala Corridor

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JICA and Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of Mozambique (MASA) held a seminar "Shaping dynamic and people-centered growth of agriculture and rural economy in Nacala Corridor" on 4 July 2019 in Maputo. Participants with a variety of background, from the Government of Mozambique, international development agencies such as, NGOs, academic institutions, and diplomatic missions, attended the seminar.

The objectives of the seminar were to share the achievements of different actors in agricultural and rural development in Nacala Corridor as well as approaches in their projects. It was also expected that through the seminar development actors would learn from each other, pursue wider utilization of shared approaches, and explore collaboration to further contribute to the agricultural/rural development in Nacala Corridor effectively and efficiently.

The seminar started with the opening remarks by Mr. Hiroaki Endo, Chief Representative of JICA Mozambique, mentioning the objective of the seminar and JICA's cooperation in agricultural and rural development in Nacala Corridor. Mr. Victor Canhemba, Permanent Secretary of MASA, officially opened the seminar stating that MASA is determined to make its maximum effort for the improvement of livelihood of farmers with support from partners and hopes the seminar would be a good opportunity to encourage collaboration among the actors.

Following the opening remarks, Dr. Rafael Uaiene, Agricultural Policy Adviser, SPEED+, delivered a keynote speech titled "Agricultural development in Nacala Corridor: key issues for the development". Dr. Uaiene argued that the transformation of agriculture is necessary to make use of the potential of the area and that "5Is"(Institution, Investment, Infrastructure, Innovation, Incentive) are the keys for the transformation. Dr. Uaiene also stressed that farmers themselves need to make informed decision on whether to choose conventional agriculture or agriculture with transformation, while recognizing different options. Furthermore, his view was that since projects by different actors have common vision to achieve, such as livelihood improvement, in order to promote transformation effectively, knowledge sharing among development actors and coordinated collaboration would be indispensable.

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After the sharing sessions by JICA and Rural Market Promotion Project (PROMER), a panel discussion among representatives from Foundation for Community Development (FDC/NGO), National Sustainable Development Fund (FNDS), MASA, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and JICA took place. Each panelist shared the features of their interventions or their views on the challenges for agriculture in Nacala Corridor. Answering the questions raised by the floor, the discussion concluded that systematic information sharing of projects with the government and among actors and working together under coordination is important. It was also agreed that the role of government in information sharing and coordination is essential and the involvement of the government would increase the sustainability of the cooperation considering that the government role to formulate long-term policy and to provide public service to realize the policy.

In the closing remarks, Mr. Delfim Julio Vilissa, National Director of Department of Planning and International Cooperation evaluated the seminar to be intensive and productive. While sharing recent government initiative to revitalize the coordination mechanism and to enhance monitoring of interventions for evidence-based policy decision making, he called for cooperation of development partners for information sharing and suggested that the government may consider playing a leading role in coordination.

During the seminar, not only speakers but also some attendants valued the chance of information sharing which the seminar offered. In this way, JICA is willing to join hands with other partners and continue our efforts to bring bigger impact for small-scale farmers in Nacala Corridor to enjoy better livelihood.

For details of achievements of JICA projects in Nacala Corridor, please refer below.

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