| dc.description | The agricultural sector is the main driver for socio-economic development in Mozambique. It employs 80% of the working population and contributes 90% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Majority of the farmers are subsistence smallholders who practice their farming under rain-fed conditions with low use of improved technologies and experience low productivity. These smallholder farms account for nearly 90 percent of domestic food supplies. Farmers grow cassava and maize as their main crops, with millet, rice and beans as extra food crops. Mozambique’s major cash crops are cashew nuts, cotton, copra, sugar, tea, and cassava. Maize is the main staple food and is grown throughout the country. The total area used to cultivate maize is about 1.4 million hectares and the yield seldom exceeds 1.0 t/ha. Most households still grow local maize varieties. Uaiene et al (2011) found that 91% of the rural households still grow local maize varieties while 32 percent and 14%grew openpollinated variety (OPV) and hybrid varieties, respectively. This contributes greatly to low yields. Other constraints affecting maize production in Mozambique includes low soil fertility, frequent droughts, weeds, pests and crop diseases (IFDC, 2011). Drought episodes have intensified in the recent years affecting the already low maize yield levels. This is affecting livelihoods of many rural households. Apart from the effects of climate change causing droughts in Mozambique, the island of Madagascar and the Comoros lie to the east of Mozambique. These act as a natural weather barrier, preventing southern Mozambique from experiencing the full force of tropical storms resulting in many parts of the country receiving low annual rainfall. In a bid to help smallholder farmers overcome the negative impact of drought in Mozambique and many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project, funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and jointly implemented by for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in collaboration with national agricultural research organizations and 13 sub Saharan Africa countries, have developed several Drought Tolerant (DT) maize varieties. These varieties have been released in several countries including Mozambique since 2007. The first step of the variety release made several strides particularly in southern Africa where a number of varieties have been released. In Mozambique, nine improved varieties have been released since 2000. | |
