Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world and these increases in production, though significant, are still slow to take hold. The poor infrastructure makes acquiring modern farming input materials very difficult. These trials include an introduction to conservation-tillage practices and complementary packages of inputs, such as certified seed and fertilizers. There are very few animals that can be used to pull plows or cultivators so most tillage is done with hand labor.
Conservation tillage can eliminate almost all of that labor.
Wayne Haag, country director for SG2000 believes that conservation tillage is the only feasible solution that works well for small holders that stops soil degradation, improves water utilization, and uplifts some of the poorest people on earth. The efforts in Mozambique were complicated in early 2000 in the towns of Tchokwe, Masia, and Bilene, where all the conservation-tillage demonstration plots were destroyed by floods. As Monsanto and SG2000 move forward, the hope is that good weather and farmer interest will prevail and that the Mozambique program to demonstrate yield-enhancing farming techniques, including conservation tillage, will help improve much needed food security in this country.