Soil Restoration Strengthens Food Security in Northern Mozambique

Families in Memba District, northern Mozambique, are restoring their land and growing healthy crops on soil that once seemed lifeless. With support from World Vision, they have learnt simple but powerful farming techniques that protect crops from the harsh sun and winds, through Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).

In Cava especially, the dust is settling, the green is returning, and the pineapple harvest is better than ever. These remarkable changes are the result of practices that create a cooler, gentler environment in which crops can thrive even under severe weather. This represents an important change in a country where climate shocks are becoming increasingly frequent.

Memba has long been a land of extremes, and in Cava, this was felt deeply. The heat is intense, and rainfall is unpredictable, often leaving the land cracked, exhausted, and unproductive. But through FMNR, the community is learning to restore balance, bringing life back to the land and hope to their harvests.

The children of Cava see this transformation with their own eyes. Twelve-year-old Hortência beams as she lifts a massive pineapple and says “The fruit is bigger and sweeter this year. My parents say our garden grows much better because the ground is cooler.”

It was not always like this. “Growing up, I saw my parents struggle as crops failed repeatedly, and no one understood why, until they were trained and shown how to restore the soil and make it thrive,” Hortência explains.

These improvements are also helping families survive the “hunger months,” when food is scarce before the next harvest. With stronger, healthier pineapple crops, families now enjoy more reliable sources of food and income.

World Vision is supporting child wellbeing by helping communities reduce poverty, improve children’s health, and strengthen their capacity to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. This work is especially crucial in Memba, where extreme weather events, including Cyclone Chido in December 2024, have caused devastating crop losses and heightened food insecurity.

Join us in our mission to mitigate the effects of climate change in vulnerable regions; strengthen food security for thousands of families; and protect the next generation from the cycle of poverty.