Marisete Araújo, a consultant at the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger, made a field visit to Nampula, in Mozambique, as part of the activities of the Beyond Cotton initiative. During the visit, the consultant collected data on models of intercropped production of cotton and food, which will be used to prepare the country-specific project of the initiative for Mozambique.
In Nampula, Marisete saw the model of intercropped cotton and maize production developed by the smallholder farmers in the region, and other good practices such as a water-cleaning and irrigation system also developed by the farmers. The nutritionist took the opportunity to make a brief assessment of the nutritional status of the farmers present. The work in Nampula is developed with support from IDH (Sustainable Trade Initiative).
The Beyond Cotton initiative aims to support smallholder cotton producers and public institutions in Benin, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania, to generate income for the smallholder farmers and to increase food and nutrition security in rural areas. One important step of the initiative is the elaboration of country-specific projects to establish a roadmap for the intervention in each country. Consultant Marisete Araújo is compiling the information needed for the Mozambique project.
The Beyond Cotton initiative was launched in 2018 and is working to connect cotton by-products – such as seed oil and cake – and associated crops – such as corn, sorghum and beans – to reliable markets, including school feeding programmes. The initiative is being implemented by the Centre of Excellence against Hunger, with coordination of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and financial support from the Brazilian Cotton Institute.