Malema District of Nampula Province in northern Mozambique is tagged by most people as the silo of the province. It is around 350 km from Nampula town. It supplies onions, garlic, tomatoes, and other vegetables to Nampula and other districts of neighboring provinces such as Cabo del Gado and Zambezia. Most farmers produce a variety of vegetables twice a year, one rainfed and the other irrigated.
Soybean has never been produced in the district until the MIRACLE project introduced it during the 2011/2012 cropping season. Mr Henrique Hilário Avela was one of the six farmers who agreed to work with the project by hosting demonstration and participatory varietal selection (PVS) trials in his farm. He produced mainly onions and other vegetables as cash crops. Although he had heard of soybean from the radio and farmers from Gurue (a district of Zambezia province) before, he never had interest in trying the crop.
“I used to cultivate 1.5 ha of l and for onions and other vegetables twice a year. This is my main source of income. I know how to grow it and I know where to sell it. I was earning a maximum of 35,000 Meticais (roughly US$1,200) every year,” Mr Avela narrated. “I did not want to try soybean because I did not know anything about it. After the introduction of the MIRACLE project in September 2011, I agreed, with some hesitance, to try the crop since I was told that IITA will guide me on things that I need to do. I have a big piece of l and and I agreed to cultivate 10 ha for this crop. I had many questions in my mind and I had no idea what the outcome would be of this ‘risk’ I committed myself into,” he continued.
MIRACLE provided 500 kg of four different improved IITA varieties, plowing, and labor for the first weeding. Mr Avela provided l and, labor for second weeding and harvesting, and farm supervision. From the 10 ha, he harvested 15.7 tons, 40% of which he returned to IITA as agreed. From the remaining 60% (9.42 t), he kept some as seeds for the 2012/2013 cropping season, a little for home consumption, and sold the rest at 40 Mts/kg. “My joy was immeasurable as I was seeing this huge amount of money for the very first time in my entire life. I couldn’t believe it was mine,” he recounted with a big smile. “I have shown you the house where I and my family used to live in the village. After realizing I had that much money, I and my wife decided to build a house in a piece of l and in town which my parents gave me long time ago. We managed to build a three-bedroom house, and we will paint as soon as this cropping season (referring to that of 2012/2013) is over,” he continued with excitement.
Now convinced of the economic potential of soybean, he even exp anded the l and area he cultivated during the last cropping season to 20 ha. As of July, he was still threshing his harvest and is expecting roughly 20 t of certified soybean seeds. “I will be a millionaire in no time. The next time you will visit me, you will see my retail shop in town, you will find my house fully furnished and beautifully painted, you will see my truck parked in my yard,” he said seriously. “I have 100 ha of l and. I will continue producing soybean and buy myself a tractor so I can cultivate the entire area,” he said.
Mr Avela is not alone. Mr Paulo Potocosse shares the same joy. He cultivated only 1.5 ha out of his 150-ha l and holding because tractor service for l and preparation was not easy to find. From the 1.5 ha, he harvested 2.5 t and earned 36,000 Mts (roughly $1,200). From this, he bought a motorbike and exp anded his house (added two more bedrooms). He is using the motorbike to buy and sell fuel in the village. “Apart from the fuel business, I use it to help other community members during emergencies,” he said with a sense of pride. During the last cropping, he cultivated 2 ha and his wife also cultivated 1 ha.
Supporting Mr Avela’s and Mr Potocosse’s claims, Celestino and Bonifacio (also lead farmers and leaders in their respective communities) declared “This project has changed the entire Malema district. Until 2011, people think only of maize, onion, and a few vegetables. After seeing and experiencing the benefits from soybean both economically and healthwise, people have become wiser. Most of us are now growing maize only for home consumption and devote the rest of the l and to soybean. Most farmers are now trying to legalize their l ands because even a small parcel with soybean can improve their lives,” Celestino said. “Before, we just cultivate our l and. Now, we have seen that soybean production can change our lives and we are now treating it as a serious business. Not many of us have the financial resources to cultivate bigger l and sizes. If we really want to go into the soybean business, we need to borrow from the bank, where DUAT (a certificate issued by the government giving the holder the right to use the l and) is required as a collateral. This is the reason why many of us are now in the process of legalizing our l ands,” Celestino continued.
Bonifacio added “women have also become highly interested in producing the crop for themselves after learning what they can do with soybean. They might have shown you those skin- and-bone children our women are working with. A few months after being fed with soybean porridge and milk, they look healthier. To us these things that are happening are truly miracles. This improvement in the lives of farmers will not happen had IITA not introduced this project.”
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For more information, please contact: Andrea Gros, a.gros@cgiar.org or Jeffrey Oliver, j.oliver@cgiar.org.
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