The Horti-Sempre project seeks to improve the livelihoods of local small-scale horticultural producers through adequate facilitation that enables access to relevant products and services which aid in an increased capacity to produce and compete in the market.
Agriculture is the foundation of Northern Mozambique’s economy and employs over 80% of the economically active population contributing to 25% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Economic development and poverty alleviation are therefore highly dependent on agricultural growth. Demand for horticultural products is increasing as local supply is limited in quantity, quality and seasonality. Imports from other provinces like Maputo and other foreign countries are therefore used to fill the demand gap. Also, complementary staple food crops such as cassava and beans experience high demand and show both local and export market potential.
The Horti-Sempre Project improves the access of local small-scale producers to relevant products and services which help them increase their capacity to produce and compete in the market. The project plays a facilitator role with targeted interventions to empower the farmers to develop business models with private sector partners.
The project is currently in its second phase and has three main components:
It applies a Market Systems Development (MSD) approach to trigger the systemic change in the horticultural market by building on existing end-of-market opportunities.
The project seeks to increase the annual net income of 25,000 smallholder farmers by 30% against the baseline by supporting the growth of the horticultural sector in Northern Mozambique in order to increase the competitiveness and inclusivity of the local population who see agriculture as their main income generator. It also seeks to increase the productivity and output quality as well as reduce the seasonality of smallholder vegetable production and complementary production of selected staple crops both for own consumption and for sale.
Results to date