PROIRRI – CDC
Capacity Development Consultant Services
Problems
Mozambique’s government aims at achieving a higher level of self-sufficiency in food production through irrigation. To significantly enhance the irrigation sector, (improved) technical capacity and direction was required to implement the National Irrigation Plan.
Solutions
The project contributed to the national irrigation program through policy development, improved programming and legislation. Hundreds of agricultural and irrigation extension workers were trained at national institutions to support the farmers in their efforts to increase their agricultural production. Training and capacity building focused on institutional development of the National Irrigation Institute, including the design of financial mechanism options for the investments in publicly owned schemes. Resilience also supported setting-up irrigation education at 5 higher education institutes and capacity building of agricultural extensionists in the field on irrigated and rainfed market-oriented production. In the wider region of Southern and Eastern Africa, various useful manuals and guidelines were developed. Resilience collaborated with Alterra, Wageningen University-IWE, Solomon Lda and the KIT – Royal Tropical Institute.
Impact
Through the reviewed and operationalize National Irrigation Programme, the Mozambican government re-engaged with irrigation and puts substantial attention to creating an enabling environment. There is strengthened capacity building by re-training Mozambique’s extension staff and re-establishing higher education in irrigation. By upscaling an innovative approach to farmer-initiated irrigation, we made a crucial difference for thousands of smallholder farmers in Mozambique through sustainable irrigation systems and production system development. As such, the project contributes to national food- and livelihood security.
