1I'm going to report on a case study of a programme
2which has been set up to help rural populations in Mozambique,
3a largely agricultural country in South-East Africa.
4The programme worked with three communities in Chicualacuala district,
5near the Limpopo River.
6This is a dry and arid region, with unpredictable rainfall.
7Because of this, people in the area were unable to support themselves through agriculture
8and instead they used the forest as a means of providing themselves with an income,
9mainly by selling charcoal.
10However, this was not a sustainable way of living in the long term,
11as they were rapidly using up this resource.
12To support agriculture in this dry region,
13the programme focused primarily on making use of existing water resources from the Limpopo River
14by setting up systems of irrigation,
15which would provide a dependable water supply for crops and animals.
16The programme worked closely with the district government in order to find the best way of implementing this.
17The region already had one farmers' association,
18and it was decided to set up two more of these.
19These associations planned and carried out activities including water management,
20livestock breeding and agriculture,
21and it was notable that in general, women formed the majority of the workforce.
22It was decided that in order to keep the crops safe from animals, both wild and domestic,
23special areas should be fenced off where the crops could be grown.
24The community was responsible for creating these fences,
25but the programme provided the necessary wire for making them.
26Once the area had been fenced off, it could be cultivated.
27The land was dug, so that vegetables and cereals appropriate to the climate could be grown,
28and the programme provided the necessary seeds for this.
29The programme also provided pumps so that water could be brought from the river in pipes to the fields.
30However, the labour was all provided by local people,
31and they also provided and put up the posts that supported the fences around the fields.
32Once the programme had been set up,
33its development was monitored carefully.
34The farmers were able to grow enough produce
35not just for their own needs, but also to sell.
36However, getting the produce to places where it could be marketed was sometimes a problem,
37as the farmers did not have access to transport,
38and this resulted in large amounts of produce,
39especially vegetables, being spoiled.
40This problem was discussed with the farmers' associations
41and it was decided that in order to prevent food from being spoiled,
42the farmers needed to learn techniques for its preservation.
43There was also an additional initiative that had not been originally planned,
44but which became a central feature of the programme.
45This was when farmers started to dig holes for tanks in the fenced-off areas
46and to fill these with water and use them for breeding fish -
47an important source of protein.
48After a time, another suggestion was made by local people
49which hadn't been part of the programme's original proposal,
50but which was also adopted later on.
51They decided to try setting up colonies of bees,
52which would provide honey both for their own consumption and to sell.
53So what lessons can be learned from this programme?
54First of all, it tells us that in dry, arid regions,
55if there is access to a reliable source of water,
56there is great potential for the development of agriculture.
57In Chicualacuala, there was a marked improvement in agricultural production,
58which improved food security
59and benefited local people by providing them with both food and income.
60However, it's important to set realistic timelines for each phase of the programme,
61especially for its design,
62as mistakes made at this stage may be hard to correct later on.
63The programme demonstrates that sustainable development is possible in areas where...