Increasing Mozambique’s food production and nutrition security

Requesting partner(s):

Instituto Superior Politécnico de Manica (ISPM)

Instituto de investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IIAM)

Instituto Médio Técnico-Profissional Agrário de Chimoio (IAC)

Consortium partner(s):

Maastricht School of Management

Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB)

Universiteit van Lissabon – School of Agriculture (ISA),

Citaverde Bedrijfsopleidingen

CESO Consultancy

Delphy B.V.

Context

This project’s goal is to set up a Centre for Innovation and Resource-Smart Green Technologies in Manica (Chimoio), attached to ISPM (more info at https://www.facebook.com/ispmanica/ (linkname ISPM’s Facebook page). Through the mentorship programme, the project helps students who want to start a business, for instance to connect with farmers and service providers who have knowledge, skills and practices.

Lead farmers attached to the centre for innovation are trained and will train colleague farmers in resource-smart green practices and sustainable business models. Extension workers are trained in practical skills.

Technical and vocational education, higher education, research institutions, public and private sector partners will all collaborate to facilitate innovations, knowledge and skill sharing based on demonstrations regarding the benefits of resource-smart green technologies for different customer segments, best practice exchange, resource sharing, joint programmes and increased access for young people and smallholder farmers to skills training and employment creation.

Q-Point and ISPM worked together before, see for more information: https://www.q-point-bv.nl/en/projects/levensmiddelen-technologie-en-biotechnologie/ (linkname: Agro food processing and biotechnology)

Projectgoal and outputs

Demand driven agricultural educational improvements and capacity building. The aim is to enhance skills development, self-employment and to demonstrate the benefits of resource-smart green technologies in numbers.

Integration of problem-solving activities to increase agricultural yields and market linkages. At the same time, the food system approach (social-economic, environmental and food security aspects) is considered, as part of the teaching and training.

Practical educational activities, like incubation projects as part of curricula.

Model farms/demonstrations as a key instrument to learn about applied resource-smart green technologies

Career guidance as a responsibility for the training institutions.

Best practices shared among the organisations involved.

All development and training in close cooperation with the private sector, at production as well as input and processing and marketing levels.

Agricultural training programmes and research as part of the programme.

Female talent programmes at partner institutions ISPM, IMTPAC and IIAM are part of the policies and procedures, to ensure an environment that is gender sensitive.

Model farms

The model farms and post-harvest technologies to be set up at ISPM will target different customer segments, from low-tech innovative resource-smart green technologies and practices to more advanced investments in a greenhouse and controlled cultivation practices and their benefits.

Following good practices in Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia, farm plots will be allocated to students from ISPM, IMTPAC and SMEs/smallholder farmers to apply the lessons learned in their own experimental plot for their incubation projects as part of the curricula.