RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INCOME VOLATILITY AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION | 51 and reduces the local availability of medicine, fuel, and other products­ Standing water also results in an increase of the mosuito populations and resulting vec- tor-borne diseases­ ƒocal media in –o—ambiue reported that malaria was up by ‘‘ percent in ˜ampula in ebruary ‘’…” due to rains and standing water­ €n addition, one of the three villages participating in the Smallholder ‰iaries suf- fered a cholera outbrea after the heavy rains and flooding­ ƒie many in the –o—ambiue sample, ˆlina, ”…, experienced more hardships during the hunger season­ ƒiving alone since her divorce, ˆlina sold cabanga, locally made beer, lie many single women­ ˆlina was energetic and managed seven crops woring alone on her small plot (’­… hectare)­ She raised poultry for eggs and meat and hired additional worers only to help her with planting in ˆugust­ ˆlina also received an old age pension from the government, though pay- ments were inconsistent­ Œhe pension was meant to provide ©S±¢­¢’ every month, but in two months ˆlina received only ©S±”­ž’ without explanation­ ˆlina stored the crops she harvested in September and ¦ctober in a simple bamboo cistern and bags in her house, and then consumed her stored crops over the lean months (igure ‘”)­ “€ eat well because € live alone, and € don’t drin or smoe,” she said­ “€ consider that € am eating well when € can eat what is appe- ti—ing, what my heart desires­ £ecause of this, whatever money € mae, € use to buy foods € lie to eat, lie fish, meat, rice, cassava flour, and other foods­” Œhough these income sources made ˆlina better off than many other small- holders, she still suffered from hunger in the first three months of the year­ Œhe whole community was short of money between Žanuary and –arch, and sales of cabanga dropped during this period (see igure ‘¢)­ ˆlina survived only on her pension during these months­ €n September, all seven of her chicens and three of her ducs fell prey to disease and died­ ™hen ˆlina needed money for oil, soap, and other necessities during the hunger season, she sold cassava and peanuts in Žanuary and mai—e in ebruary to generate cash­ ˆlina went to sleep without eating for many nights in Žanuary, three nights in ebruary, two nights in –arch, and three nights in ˆpril FIGURE 24: The vicious cycle of the hunger season in Mozambique Run low on Limited stored food; possibility for lack of variety casual work in diet Poor nutrition Rainy season from sickness and breeds disease: hunger further malaria, cholera limits availability to do other labor