Press Release

OFID grants a US$250,000 toward securing land tenure and sustainable development in the Sofala Province, Mozambique

61/2006 June 13, 2006, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) today approved a grant of US$250,000 for access to land titles and provision of agricultural technology for more than 25,000 rural families living in eight villages in the Sofala Province in Mozambique. Assistance will be channeled through the Austrian Relief Organization.

Mozambique is one of the ten poorest countries worldwide with 70% of the entire population living below the poverty line. National legislation permits communal land rights through the process of land demarcation, but only few rural communities’ benefit from these rights. In Sofala province, conflicts over access to land and its use have created serious problems due to the influx of agricultural workers from Zimbabwe and South Africa.

These villages are located in the province of Sofala, specifically in the districts of Buzi, Dondo, Chibabava and Nhamatanda. The project will enhance the living condition of beneficiary communities through introducing agricultural micro-projects and contribute to poverty reduction through the promotion of socio-economic rights and capacity building of local farmers and national authorities in the rural areas of Sofala province.