The SG 2000 project in Mozambique was launched in 1995. Civil war and famine had displaced farmers, and over the years the countryside had been devastated.  Rehabilitating the agricultural sector was an urgent priority for the government.

The first year, 40 half-hectare maize production test plots (PTPs) were planted in two provinces of the country.  The average yields were around 4.3 t/ha.  The next season, 310 maize PTPs and 21 rice PTPs were established in four provinces.  Yield of maize were 2.5 t/ha to 3.0 t/ha compared with 1.0 t/ha with traditional method, of rice 2.6 t/ha, compared with 0.75 t/ha with conventional methods.
Since then production test plots have expanded to five provinces. The national maize harvest in 1999 was the largest on record, and maize was exported to neighbouring countries.

Efforts to develop a network of input distributors to serve farmers progressed in partnership with other NGOs such as the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs.  SG 2000 cooperated with the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) to promote the growth of a private fertilizer sector. Stockists (small retailers) were trained in input storage and handling and business management. Inputs for the demonstration program were delivered through these stockists.

Conservation tillage technology and herbicide use have been introduced to maize farmers, and no-till farming to rice farmers.

SG 2000 has been testing quality protein maize (QPM) varieties for local release. Obatanpa, the QPM variety from Ghana was released by the national maize programme for commercial use, under the local name of Sussuma. A national multilocation yield trial grown by INIA, recorded a 4.6t/ha yield performance for Sussuma, compared with 4.2 to 4.4 t/ha for three most popular improved varieties.

The 1998/99 field demonstration programme was will be considerably expanded. The number of maize plots increased to 1,000 and rice to 400. There were 100 plots of beans and, for the first time, 50 demonstration plots for cotton, which is an important cash crop for many smallholders.
The country produced a good maize harvest that this season, and exported maize to neighbour countries—mainly to Malawi. The donor community also recognized the country’s agricultural potential.

Wayne Haag observed positive developments in the fertilizer sector. The IFDC/MAP/USAID project and Japan’s KR-II Programme were expected to make major contribution towards developing the sector. There was also a growing interest on the part of South Africa’s fertilizer industry in the potential of Mozambique.

SG 2000 and its partner organizations worked with nine crops during the 1999/2000 season—the most popular being maize and rice. “Sunflower, sesame and pigeon pea were added to the programme, at the request of several NGO partners who have had success in promoting and marketing these crops,” said Wayne Haag.

National maize production in Mozambique increased from 452,000 tons in 1990 to 1.1 million tons in 2000, despite serious flooding in low-lying areas during the past two years. However, the failure to provide reasonable incentives for producers remains a major factor limiting agricultural development in Mozambique. The Government recognised that agriculture was the primary engine of economic growth and increased its agricultural development budget from 3 to 6 per cent since 1999.

A total of 2,193 demonstrations plots were planted for the 2000/01 season, maize still being the dominant crop with 1,431 demonstration plots. Plans also called for between 50 and 100 cotton, 30 soybean, 45 groundnut and 10 potato demonstration plots. Around 300 sunflower and 100 field bean demonstration plots were also planted. Most of the inputs for the PTPs purchased by SG 2000 before were now purchased by MADR through PROAGRI—the public sector’s agricultural investment programme.

The market instability remained a major barrier to the widespread adoption of the technologies being promoted by the programme. “The major agricultural intensification challenge remains the strengthening of the entire input supply system and the provision of reasonable output prices.”

Like many countries in southern Africa, Mozambique suffered in 2002 from a shortage of rainfall. However, overall, less than 5 per cent of the population was affected. “Surplus of production is still expected in many parts of the north and central regions,” commented Haag. “Much of this surplus production will flow across borders into Malawi and Zimbabwe, due to the large food deficits there.”
“Major challenges remain. Inputs—glyphosate and sprayers—need to be more widely available; hand planters must be introduced, as well as animal-drawn drills for rice, and herbicide application techniques must be refined.”

The phase one of the project came to an end in 2002. « The first six years have proved to be an intensive and challenging learning process » said SG 2000 Project Coordinator Carlos Zandamela. The completion of Phase one was endorsed by the external evaluation team, which had visited the country in March 2002. Following extensive meetings with several stakeholders, including high-ranking government officials, the evaluation noted that the Government of Mozambique was willing to continue towards achieving the programme’s goal, and that the conditions for the effective transfer to nationals had been created.

SG Mozambique Phase two priorities were to attain higher yields in the demonstration plots ; to continue to encourage commercial financial institutions and input suppliers to extend input credit to farmers who have adopted recommended technologies ; to incorporate conservation tillage technology into the standard package for maize and rice demonstrations and widely disseminate this technology to extension workers and farmers ; and to collaborate with the Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Agropecuaria (INIA) to determine the response of important crops (maize and rice) to different fertiliser applications and materials.

The project continued to promote demonstration plots—maize, cowpea, peanuts, rice, beans, sunflowers, millet, cotton, tobacco, soybean, paprika, potato, sesame, garlic and onion—and to support the government’s activities.

The Mozambique project ended in late 2005, but the country is still on the list on the countries involved in the regional programmes activities.