The April-July 2020 reporting period covers the late grainfilling phases of maize and rice in the northern region. Harvest took place in April and May. It also covers the main growing season for wheat, which was harvested by July. The effect of below-average soil moisture combined with below-average rainfall and the early cessation of rains in the southern and central regions could negatively impact the ongoing second season, which is mainly used for vegetable production. 

At the national level, rainfall was 24% below average (99 mm). The recorded temperature was 19.9ºC (0.1ºC below the 15YA). Radiation decreased by about 3%. Altogether (rainfall, temperature and radiation) contributed to the decrease in biomass by about 2%. CALF was near average. Based on the NDVI graph, crop conditions were below average during the entire period. The NDVI clustering reveals that crop conditions in 6.2% of the area in Mozambique were above the five-year average, especially along the Limpopo and Zambezi riverbanks where VCIx was close to 1. The favorable VCIx conditions observed in these regions correspond to the ongoing second season which is mainly used for vegetables and irrigated rice. Meanwhile, 14.3% of the country recorded far below average crop conditions, mostly in the Tete, Zambézia, and Nampula provinces. The national average maximum VCIx was recorded at 0.81.  Mixed crop conditions were observed throughout the country with the overall conditions being below the 5-year average.

Regional analysis

According to the cropping system, topography and climate, CropWatch has subdivided Mozambique into five agro-ecological zones (AEZ): (1) Buzi Basin, (2) Northern High-altitude Areas, (3) Low Zambezi River Basin, (4) Northern Coast, and (5) Southern Region.

During the reporting period, all the agro-ecological regions recorded significant decreases in rainfall when compared to the past fifteen years-average. The Northern high-altitude areas and the Northern coast zone recorded the highest reductions by about 44% and 30%, respectively. The temperature were below average in the Buzi basin  (-0.4 ºC), Northern high-altitude areas (-0.3 ºC) and Southern region (-0.2 ºC). With the exception for Northern high-altitude areas, radiation and biomass were also lower in the remaining zones. About average CALF was verified in the Buzi basin, Northern high-altitude areas, and Northern coast, while in the Low Zambezi river basin CALF decreased by 2%. With maximum VCIx varying from 0.79 to 0.89, the crop development graph based on NDVI indicates below-average crop conditions during the entire monitoring period in all agro-ecological zones.

Figure 3.32. Mozambique’s crop condition, April-July 2020

(a) Phenology of major crops

(b) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI                                              (c) Maximum VCI

d) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA                                                                (e) NDVI profiles

(f) National time-series rainfall profiles                                                         (g) National time-series temperature profiles

(h) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI-Buzi basin (left),  and Northern high-altitude areas (right)

(i) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI-Lower Zambezi River basin (left),  and Northern coast region (right)

(j) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI-Southern region

Table 3.55. Mozambique agro-climatic indicators by sub-national regions, current season’s values and departure from 15YA, April-July 2020

Table 3.56. Mozambique agronomic indicators by sub-national regions, current season’s values and departure from 5YA, April-July 2020