Macossa District

Macossa District is a district of Manica Province in western Mozambique. The principal town is Macossa. The district is located in the east of the province, and borders with Tambara District in the north, Maringué District of Sofala Province in the northeast, Gorongosa District of Sofala Province in the east, Gondola District in the south, Báruè District in the west, and with Guro District in the northwest. The area of the district is 9554 km2. It has a population of 27,245 as of 2007.

Geography
The main rivers crossing the district is the Phandira River; a number of rivers are seasonal and only flow during the rainy season. The Pungwe River makes the border with Gondola District.

The climate in the west of the district is tropical wet and dry, with the annual rainfall varying between 800 mm and 1000 mm.

Demographics
As of 2005, 50% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 14% did speak Portuguese. The most common mothertongue is Chitwe language. 88% were analphabetic, mostly women.

Administrative divisions
The district is divided into three postos, Macossa (one locality), Nguawala (one locality), and Nhamangua (two localities).

Economy
Less than 1% of the households in the district have access to electricity.

Agriculture
In the district, there are 2,000 farms which have on average 2.0 ha of land. The main agricultural products are corn, cassava, cowpea, peanut, sorghum, pearl millet, sweet potato, and rice.

Transportation
There is a road network in the district which contains 190 km of secondary roads and 640 km of local roads.