Maputo — More than half of the 50,000 hectares of land cultivated during the first agricultural season of the present campaign in Vilanculo district, in the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane, has been lost to drought.

Vilanculo district administrator Jose Mabureza told reporters that the situation is particularly serious in the localities of Muapsa, Mapinhane, and Belane, where about 1,800 families are in need of food aid.

"We are seriously worried because rain did not fall during the usual period and we did not have good results during the first agricultural campaign", said Mabureza, adding that maize and peanuts are the main crops lost.

He said that, faced with this situation, the local government, in partnership with the German NGO Accao Agraria Alema (German Agricultural Action), have been working to provide food to the most needy people.

Pat of this assistance includes providing seeds for the second planting season. Mabureza expressed hope for success in this, because experience from past years has shown that rainfall has been more regular during the second season.

During her recent visit to the districts of Vilankulo, in Inhambane, and Bilene, in the neighbouring province of Gaza, Mozambican first lady Maria da Luz Guebuza urged farmers to plant crops resistant to drought.

"We must cultivate crops resistant to drought, such as sweet potatoes and cassava. Their leaves are rich in iron and calcium, and their roots are also used as food", she said, addressing a rally in the Pambara administrative post, in Vilanculo.

In the administrative post of Messano, in Bilene, she urged the residents not to rely only on maize, but also to plant sweet potatoes, cassava, and fruit trees.

She also advised the farmers to cultivate in low lying areas, which are less dependent on rainfall.

"Gaza province is rich in pastures. We must take advantage of these pastures, raising cattle, goats, and sheep for us to eat and to sell whenever necessary", said Guebuza.