A surge in artisanal gold mining is eating into valuable farmland in Gorongosa, raising fears for local food production as fields in several communities are turned into makeshift open-pit mines. The problem has become particularly acute in Tsiquiri, Mucoza and Casa Banana, where agricultural plots once used for staple crops have been carved up by miners in search of quick profits.
Gorongosa District Administrator Pedro Mussengue said the situation had reached an unacceptable level and warned that authorities were preparing a response to protect both the land and the families who depend on it. He said most of those involved in the incursions were miners travelling from the provinces of Manica, Cabo Delgado and Nampula, with some foreign nationals also taking part.
Local officials fear that if the expansion of unregulated mining continues, communities will lose essential farmland and face deeper instability. Mussengue said the administration was committed to restoring order and safeguarding agricultural livelihoods, stressing that the gold rush could not be allowed to undermine the district’s food security.
