Good harvest expected despite heavy flooding

Officials in Mozambique said a good harvest was expected this year even though some part of the country has been subjected to heavy torrential rain and flooding in recent weeks. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture told IRIN on Tuesday the harvest was expected to bypass the expected target of 1.7 million mt of grain. He added that despite yearly floods, food production was increasing each year. In 1997 floods destroyed nearly 100,000 hectares of crops. Since mid-January this year, floods had destroyed only an estimated 44,000 hectares, he added. The spokesperson said the government was providing assistance in the form of seeds and other agricultural products to farmers in flooded areas. Last week the UN’s World Food Programme said it was giving Mozambique a further US$ 2.7 million in aid which would mainly be used to buy food staples such as maize and beans. Regions most affected by the rain and floods includes GAZA in the south and SOFALA and ZAMBEZIA in the central part of the country.