Maputo — The floods brought by tropical cyclone Freddy to the central Mozambican province of Manica have caused the loss of almost 2,000 hectares of crops.
According to the Manica Provincial Director of Agriculture, Ernesto Lopes, interviewed by Radio Mozambique, the districts most affected are Tambara, Guro, Macate, Sussundenga and Mossurize.
Lopes said that 8,164 hectares of crops had been affected of which 1,813 were completely lost. The heaviest losses were in maize and sunflower.
In addition, 71 head of cattle, 21 goats and two fish farming tanks, containing fingerlings, were lost.
Lopes said the Provincial Directorate has drawn up a contingency plan so that the households affected can recover from their losses. "We need five tonnes of seeds', he said. "We are discussing with our partners and some solutions are in sight'.
There were difficulties in reaching Tambara, he added, to deliver seeds and equipment to farmers, because of the poor condition of the access roads.
Lopes said that the initial forecasts for agricultural production this year in Manica were 4.3 million tonnes of various crops, grown on an area of 1.2 million hectares.
