Production potential in Mozambique, based on the reliability of rainfall and fertility of soils, is much greater north of the Zambezi than south of it. This fact is reflected in the regularly higher yields obtained in the central and northern regions of the country than in the south, despite all three regions primarily using production systems with no purchased inputs; and by the fact that central Zambezia and areas north of it were little affected by the 1992 drought, which devastated the rest of the country and the Southern African region as a whole. Nonetheless, this agro-climatically favored zone also suffers from geographical and infrastructural characteristics which to date have made it very difficult for the region to develop its production potential.