The Beyond Cotton project took one more step in Mozambique with the approval of the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the country. With this, the project team will be able to start field work in the regions contemplated by the initiative. In the coming days, the team will tour rural areas of the Tete and Manica provinces to present the Plan to local authorities and farmers. “Nothing is more fundamental than for the Government of Mozambique and local authorities to take part in this construction for the project to become sustainable in the country,” said Marisete Araújo, local coordinator of the project.
The approval took place on April 1st at a meeting of the Project Monitoring Committee (PMC), with the participation of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, WFP in Mozambique, the Country’s Cotton and Oilseeds Institute, as well as the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the Federal University of Lavras, which are the partners in this cooperation project. The Plan approved by the PMC contains the strategies for implementing the activities, remotely or in person, for the development of the products defined in the country project. The Committee has been holding weekly meetings since October 2020 and the signing of the country-project for Mozambique was finalized by all partners in November 2020, and the first field activities started after the signing.
The main objectives of the Beyond Cotton project in Mozambique are: to improve the productivity and yield of cotton produced by families, and to also increase the supply and quality of its by-products; to increase the management and negotiation power of producing farmers; to stimulate production models focused on reducing costs and improving the quality of life and food and nutrition security for farmers; to implement food and nutrition education practices; and to improve the conditions for the disposal of food production and cotton by-products.
Beyond Cotton Project – In Mozambique, about 1,500 farmers’ families and approximately 31,000 students from the country’s National School Feeding Programme (PRONAE) are expected to be benefitted. The project is executed by the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger and WFP’s office in Mozambique and has the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the Government of Mozambique (through the Cotton and Oilseeds Institute) and the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) as partners. Learn more on the project page.