Mozambique - Smallholder Development in the Zambezi Valley Project

Page 1 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB1592 Project Name Mozambique Smallholder Development in the Zambezi Valley Region AFRICA Sector General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector (20%); Animal production (20%); Irrigation and drainage (20%); Crops (20%); Agricultural extension and research (20%) Project ID P093165 Borrower(s) GOVERNMENT OF MOZAMBIQUE Implementing Agency Ministry of Finance Maputo, Mozambique Ministry of Agriculture Maputo, Mozambique Zambezi Valley Development Authority (GPZ) Mozambique Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared June 21, 2005 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization October 26, 2005 Estimated Date of Board Approval April 18, 2006 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement From 1996-2003, rural poverty in Mozambique declined from 71.3% to 55.2%. This was primarily due to the impact of post war returning refugees to the rural areas that provided much needed labor to expand area under cultivation which helped to accelerate agricultural growth. It is estimated that about 3.2 million smallholder farms (average of 1.4 hectares holding size) account for the vast majority of the country