Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

Agriculture is by far the most common livelihood for families living near the Park. Farmers plant a variety of crops including maize, sorghum, cotton, beans, bananas, and pineapples, to name just a few. Our goal is to help farmers obtain greater yields on the land they now use so that they won't need to utilize land set aside for conservation to expand their output. 

Conservation agriculture is environmentally sustainable and increases crop yields. We are establishing demonstration plots in several communities. The main principles of conservation agriculture are:

• No Burn, No Till
  Burning kills useful organisms like earthworms, grubs, and nematodes that break down organic matter and add nutrients to the soil. Tilling destroys the natural structure that keeps soil aerated and drained.
• Mulch and Permaculture
  Mulch holds moisture in the soil and protects it from nutrient-depleting sunlight. It also nourishes earthworms and grubs that produce natural fertilizer. Permaculture uses ground-creeping plants, such as pumpkins, that cover the soil but don’t stop other crops from growing.
• Crop Rotation and Legumes
  Some crops use a lot of nutrients from the soil and others fix nutrients back into the soil. Growing the same crop in the same field year after year depletes the soil’s nutrients. Crop rotation allows the soil to recover lost nutrients by including legumes in the rotation that fix nitrogen to benefit the soil for the next crop.  This kind of rotation naturally keeps the soils from losing its nutrients while varying the types of crops grown.
• Integrated Pest Management
  Insect and animal pests can devastate harvests and leave families struggling to survive. Chemical pesticides often harm the environment and are too expensive for most local farmers. One solution is to attract the pests’ natural predators, like ladybugs, by growing the plants the predators feed on. Another alternative is to divert the pests’ attention by growing other plants they like to eat.   

Learn more about our campaign to Save the Mountain>