Relearning traditional knowledge to achieve sustainability: honey gathering in the miombo woodlands of northern Mozambique

Mozambique’s Niassa Reserve contains Africa’s best preserved miombo woodlands. Half of the households there gather wild honey from natural hives for consumption and income. However, most collectors used destructive techniques: setting fire to the grasses under the hive tree to create smoke and then felling the tree. Cutting trees to obtain honey was the principal source of tree mortality. Trees grow very slowly, about 0.25 cm diameter [dbh]/yr, meaning an average hive tree was nearly 200 years old. Furthermore, of the trees > 20 cm dbh of species important for nectar and hives, only about 15% had cavities. Although fire is intrinsic to miombo woodlands, the increased frequency resulting from anthropogenic sources impedes regeneration of some tree species as well as affecting bees, other wildlife and villages. A few people in the reserve had learned from earlier generations how to gather honey in a nondestructive way, using certain plant species to keep bees from stinging and climbing the trees using ropes to take the honey combs out of the hives. Traditional practices included leaving the larval combs behind so the colony continued to grow. Previously, the older men who had this knowledge had not been willing to share it with younger men. The project arranged for one of the traditional honey hunters to participate in an international conference on honey collection with other indigenous collectors from around the world. This helped him recognize the value of his knowledge. The project team then arranged for him to demonstrate these traditional techniques to groups of honey hunters in nine communities within the Reserve. A yearlater, monitoring revealed that many collectors had adopted these nondestructive techniques. They found them less time consuming, and appreciated that they allowed collectors to return to the same trees repeatedly to obtain honey. Sharing traditional knowledge made honey hunting compatible with the conservation of miombo woodlands

Towards resilient and profitable farming systems in Central Mozambique using an open innovation platform approach

Farmers in Central Mozambique do not benefit adequately from growing markets for crops and livestock. Ecological, economic and social barriers are intertwined: • Absence of functional markets restricting farmers from investing in agriculture; • Lack of incentives to improve agricultural practices resulting in unavailability of biomass limiting surplus; • Lack of motivation to engage in social organization; As a consequence, farmers lose the ability to respond to market opportunities and to adapt to different forms of shocks that threaten their livelihoods. Innovation platforms (IPs) help to address some of the barriers and underlying dynamics, but do not tackle the root causes impeding transition from subsistence to sustainable, market-oriented farming..

Relearning traditional knowledge for sustainability: honey gathering in the Miombo Woodland of Northern Mozambique

Mozambique's Niassa Reserve contains Africa's best preserved miombo woodlands. Half of the households there gather wild honey from natural hives for consumption and income. However, most collectors used destructive techniques: setting fire to the grasses under the hive tree to create smoke and then felling the tree. Cutting trees to obtain honey was the principal source of tree mortality. Trees grow very slowly, about 0.25 cm diameter at breast hight [dbh] per year, meaning an average hive tree was nearly 200 years old. Furthermore, of the trees > 20 cm dbh of species important for nectar and hives, only about 15% had cavities. Although fire is intrinsic to miombo woodlands, the increased frequency resulting from anthropogenic sources impedes regeneration of some tree species as well as affecting bees, other wildlife and villages. A few people in the reserve had learned from earlier generations how to gather honey in a nondestructive way, using certain plant species to keep bees from stinging and climbing the trees using ropes to take the honeycombs out of the hives. Traditional practices included leaving the larval combs behind so the colony continued to grow. Previously, the older men who had this knowledge had not been willing to share it with younger men. The project arranged for one of the traditional honey hunters to participate in an international conference on honey collection with other indigenous collectors from around the world. This helped him recognise the value of his knowledge. The project team then arranged for him to demonstrate these traditional techniques to groups of honey hunters in nine communities within the reserve. A year later, monitoring revealed that many collectors had adopted these nondestructive techniques. They found them less time consuming, and appreciated that they allowed collectors to return to the same trees repeatedly to obtain honey. Sharing traditional knowledge made honey hunting compatible with the conservation of miombo woodlands

Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato

Background: Chronic vitamin A deficiency affects both women and children in Mozambique and populations worldwide and cannot be addressed through supplementation alone. Food-based approaches encouraging the consumption of vitamin A-rich foods, such as the orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), have the potential to positively affect vitamin A status. A range of OFSP varieties have been introduced in sub-Saharan Africa in rural and urban environments and emergency and nonemergency contexts. Objective: To highlight the successes to date and remaining challenges of the introduction of OFSP to increase vitamin A consumption in Mozambique, collating a time line of key events. Methods: A systematic review of literature using The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Results: The systematic search resulted in 20 studies that met inclusion criteria. Data extracted include author and year, study location and duration, project partners, project title, sample size and characteristics, objectives, methods and measures, and outcomes. Conclusions: Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are widely accepted by Mozambican farmers and consumers, and various studies show a positive impact on vitamin A status due to the introduction of this nutritionally superior staple crop. Remaining challenges include vine preservation, pest and disease management, market development, and storage and processing