Today, rice is again mostly grown by smallholders, each with less than 0.5 ha. Women provide most of the production and postharvest labor. Although rice is grown mostly for consumption, occasional surpluses are sold in local markets. The area planted to rice has increased over the past few years as many families displaced during the civil war returned to their land. There are three major rice ecosystems in Mozambique.
Rice varieties are mainly traditional.
Rice varieties are similar to those in the rainfed lowlands, but are more drought-tolerant. Irrigated rice is grown mainly by commercial farmers who use farm machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, and modern varieties such as ITA312 and IR52. Production constraints Given its predominance in Mozambique, rainfed lowland rice is the focus for identification of priority problems and research needs. High-priority problems that could be addressed by research are weeds, drought, and crop establishment. Causes of high weed infestations are poor land preparation, poor water control due to low bunds and poor land leveling, lack of labor leading to untimely weeding, and inefficient weeding due to broadcast sowing.