Geography of Poverty: Case Study: Moçambique
Rick Bein IUPUI Geography Department
Fulbright Schollar to Mozambique
11 Months Sept 2004-August 2005
Teaching “Maneio e planificação de Recursos
Recreativos” (Ecotourism)
Research
4 Storey Agriculture
Debt as Percent of Income
Fig. 9-20: Many developing countries have accumulated large debts relative to their GDPs. Much of their budgets now must be used to finance their debt.
Moçambique Statistics
• Population: 19.4 million• BR 42/1000• DR 20/1000• NIR 2.2%• Doubling rate : 32 years• Infant Mortality Rate: 215/1000• Life Expectancy : 42 years
Female Literacy Rates
Fig. 9-13a: Female literacy is lower than male literacy (Fig. 9-13b) in many LDCs, with significant gender gaps in parts of the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
Gender Differences in School Enrollment
Fig. 9-12: As many or more girls than boys are enrolled in school in more developed countries, but fewer girls than boys are enrolled in many LDCs.
Gender-Related Development Index (GDI)
Fig. 9-10: The GDI combines four measures of development, reduced by the degree of disparity between males and females.
Types of HouseholdsChart 3.1 The Distribution of Household Types Mozambique and the
Regions
Couple72%
Couple Man Absent3%
Polygamous3%
Single Male Head4%
Single Female Head18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
North Centre South
Percent Urban Population
Fig. 13-1: Percent of the population living in urban areas is usually higher in MDCs than in LDCs.
Ecotourism
• Application for a forestry curriculum• Support a national effort to develop tourism as a source
for raising foreign capital • Course mission: develop a sense of sustainability
regarding the use of tourism resources
1. What kind of tourism can Mozambicans appreciate?
2. How can Mozambicans become tourists?
• Redefining tourism as to what is available for low income nationals
Maputo City Parks
• Portuguese colonial masters created 40 plus city parks in the capital city of Maputo before they left in the early 1970s.
• Parks still remain on the landscape, but not always used in the manner intended by the Portuguese.
• Parks remain as a source of recreation for the average Mozambicans.
Economic Issues of Agriculture
• Economic issues of commercial farmers– Access to markets– Overproduction– Sustainable agriculture
• Economic issues of subsistence farmers– Population growth– International trade
• Increasing food supply
Four Storey Agriculture
• Dr. F. L. (Rick) Bein, Fulbright Professor Universidade de Eduardo Mondlane Faculdade de Agronomia de
Engenharia Florestal
Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis
• Christopher J. Hill Private Consultant
Morrungulo, Inhambane, Moçambique
Four Storey Agriculture• Occurs in the District of Massinga, in the coastal coconut zone
of Inhambane Province, Moçambique • Where many different types of crops grow together on the same
land.
High Biodiversity Farming
This highly bio-diverse mix of at least 20 crops grows to:
• Various heights, • Plant Life Cycles, and
• Agro-ecological Micro-zones.
The Four Levels• The fourth level, the highest, is occupied by well spaced
coconut trees.
• The third level contains dispersed shorter useful trees. These consist of cashews, planted fruit trees, wild fruit trees and others used for fiber and medicinal purposes.
• The second level is occupied by plants that grow upright off the ground and includes cassava, corn and sorghum.
• The first level covers the ground and includes peanuts, cowpeas, pumpkins and cacana.
The Four Storeys Coconut trees dominate
the Caju trees, that
shade the
Cassava.
Cowpeas capture the sunlight that reaches the ground.
The products of AgroforestrySubsistence• Cassava• Maize• Peanuts• Cowpeas• Fruits (cultivated e Wild) • Coconut products• Sorghum• Products of the Mafura• Sweet Potatoes• Vegetables• Meat • Mopane worms
Commercial • Copra e coconuts • Cashew nuts• Alcohol distilled from
fermented fruits• Peanuts• Artisan Products • Construction Material • Firewood & Charcoal• Meat
4 Storey Agriculture was a survival strategy
that developed by trial and error for more that one thousand years,
in which the farmers of Inhambane Province adopted new exotic plants
and incorporated them with their native plants.
Security of 4 Storey Agriculture.
• During war.• When markets fail• When crops fail• Distributes the production of food throughout the
year • Diversifies the diet