Gaza, Mozambique, produces 2.4 million tons of foodstuffs

Gaza province produced more than 2. 4 million tons of foodstuffs in the 2014/2015 growing season, mainly in the first season of the last harvest.According to the Gaza provincial government, the second harvest season produced over 128 000 tons, with the production of vegetables, especially tomatoes, being enough to feed the city of Maputo and the neighbouring province of Inhambane.According to the data, the crop comprises 72.49 percent of the planned 3.3 million tons, and represents a decrease of about 5 percent compared to that recorded in the same period last year, which stood at 2,541,394 tons.The main reasons for the decrease in production are low rainfall, especially in the semi-arid areas of the province, a situation which necessitated the drawing up of a drought action plan.Forecasts for October to December 2014 indicated rainfall up to 70 percent below normal, with above normal rainfall expected for January to March 2015, satisfying 90 to 100 percent of requirements.Gaza's main crops are corn, rice, sorghum, millet, beans (cowpea and yoke), peanuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, watermelon, pumpkin, banana, pineapple, tomato, cashew nuts, cotton and sugar cane.The province currently has a total of 251 extension workers, of which 106 are from the public network, 31 from public companies, 87 from NGOs and 27 from other partners such as the FAO, Limpopo National Park and private companies.