Speeches Shim
Mozambique ranked 181st out of 188 countries in the 2015 UNDP Human Development Index, and 139th out of 159 countries in the UNDP Gender Inequality Index. Extreme poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic have contributed to the precarious status of women and girls in the country. Low levels of education, high maternal health risks, pressure to marry at a young age, limited economic prospects, gender-based violence, and accepted cultural norms place women at a high disadvantage. Few girls finish primary school (46%), even fewer finish secondary school (22%), and 56% of women are illiterate (upwards of 70% in rural areas).
Mozambique is a country of approximately 29 million people challenged by a generalized HIV epidemic. National HIV prevalence is estimated at 13%, with substantial variation in provincial prevalence ranging from 5% in Tete Province to 24% in Gaza Province. At the end of 2016, there were an estimated 1.9 million people living with HIV (PLHIV), with a higher prevalence among women, 15% vs. 10% among men. Prevalence among adolescent girls 15-19 is estimated at 6% and among young women 20-24 is estimated at 13%, compared to 2% and 5% among adolescent boys and young men.
The importance of agricultural sector production to Mozambique´s food security, livelihoods and economic growth cannot be overstated. About 80% of the population is engaged in farming which accounts for roughly 25% of the country´s Gross Domestic Product. Only half of the country´s arable land is under cultivation and subsistence farmers are highly vulnerable to variations in rainfall and temperature. Low agricultural productivity significantly impacts the economy and public health due to low yields, destructive land management practices, and poor nutrition. Mozambique has the potential to transform subsistence farming into commercial agriculture for domestic and export markets and reduce extreme poverty in rural areas.
Life-long learning begins with the mastery of reading and extends upward into higher skill areas that are a “must have” for individual and national development. High illiteracy impedes economic and social progress. In Mozambique, 40% of adults over 15 cannot read and write and female literacy lags far behind male literacy at 33%. With half the population under 15, education is important to continuing gains in peace and well-being and to enable the country to attract investment.
Mozambique is the third most vulnerable country in Africa to disaster risks (according to the UN’s Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction). Frequent natural disasters disrupt livelihoods and food production of the most vulnerable people, undermining the fight against extreme poverty. During the last 35 years there were 75 declared disasters in Mozambique consisting of 13 drought events, 25 floods, 14 tropical cyclones and 23 epidemics (Instituto Nacional de Gestao de Calamidades, 2016). The regional El Niño-induced drought emergency of 2015-2016 was the worst in 35 years.
Mozambique has made progress since the end of the civil war in 1992 in building a stable and democratic state. However, the benefits of economic and social development have not reached the majority of the population of 28 million, roughly half of whom are under 15. To meet the needs of citizens, government institutions must be more transparent, accountable, responsive and effective. Deepening democratic governance is all the more important to achieving stability and ensuring that economic growth benefits all Mozambicans as the country prepares to reap the benefits from an abundance of hydrocarbon, mineral and other natural resources.
Salang Tunnel, which is the only access in the eastern Afghanistan for commercial route, linking Afghanistan to Central Asia. The tunnel is a strategic asset through which over 80 percent of Afghanistan’s north-south commerce passes.
The 25 megawatt (MW) Herat Wind Farm will demonstrate the commercial viability of generating affordable, reliable, and accessible power from wind resources in northwest Afghanistan. The private sector Independent Power Producer (IPP), 77 Construction, will design, build, own, operate, and maintain the 25 MW Wind Farm in Herat for 20 years under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), the Afghan national electric utility. As part of USAID’s effort to create opportunities to support private sector investment, USAID will cost-share the project with the IPP, contributing $23 million of the $43 million project cost. The power produced by the wind farm will help meet the residential and commercial energy needs of up to 300,000 Afghan citizens and businesses.
Agriculture is the backbone of Mozambique’s economy with more than 80% of the population employed in this sector, 90% of those being women. However, the sector’s performance is characterized by low levels of production and productivity due to numerous challenges. These include the adverse impacts of climate change and climate variability (droughts, floods, emergent crop and livestock pests/diseases); lack of availability and access to quality inputs and technologies; soil degradation and low fertility; poor capacity for disease surveillance and control; inadequate veterinary services; insufficient extension services and poor linkages between extension and research. As a result, the Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture and Food security (MASA), in partnership with FAO, would like to build its capacity to improve service delivery to farmers to counter the climatic and pest/disease challenges facing them.
Mozambique’s agricultural sector comprises an overwhelming majority of smallholder farmers. About 70 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, which serves as the main economic sector in Mozambique (24 percent of GDP). Only 16 percent of the country’s 36 million hectares of arable land is currently under cultivation. In addition, due to obstacles such as lack of access to financing, markets and quality inputs, productivity of small-holder, family-based agriculture is very low. Agricultural development is the key to reducing poverty. USAID agriculture focused programs use a value chain approach to strengthen the agribusiness sector through improved linkages between smallholder farmers and large commercial agribusinesses, processors, and traders. Productivity, processing, and marketing of staple agricultural commodities are expanded by enhancing access to finance, forging public-private partnerships, providing business development services, and improving the business-enabling environment.
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