Maputo \u2014 About 3,000 people in the Dombe administrative\npost, in the central Mozambican province of Manica, are facing hunger because\nthey lost many of the crops they had planted when Cyclone Idai struck central\nMozambique on 14 March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Extensive areas planted with grain and vegetables were\ndevastated, plunging hundreds of households into food insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The head of the Dombe administrative post, Tomas Razao, told\nAIM that intervention by the government and its partners is urgent to alleviate\nthe suffering of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Mabaia area, he said, people are surviving only on\nwild roots and seasonal fruits. The cyclone came on top of a period of drought,\nand the combined effect of these climatic phenomena have provoked food\nshortages in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Razao said the local government is seeking public-private\npartnerships to solve the problem of food insecurity in Dombe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The population is committed to the 2019-2020\nagricultural campaign in which we are hoping for good production”, he\nsaid. “We are providing seeds, while we wait for the rains to start. On\nthe other hand, with the support of partners we are promoting various actions\nsuch as Food for Work”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this initiative, he added, does not cover all the people\nin Dombe who are facing food insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The people are committed to seeking solutions”,\nhe said. “One of the alternatives is to bank on short cycle, drought\nresistant crops. Some are producing in the low-lying areas on the banks of the\nmain rivers in Dombe, and have begun to bring in some harvests”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dombe was the part of Manica most hit by cyclone Idai.\n70,000 people live here, and most of them are farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n