The Mozambican government plans to invest about 53 billion meticais (828 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate) to increase agricultural income of the family sub-sector and contribute to raising one million households out of poverty by 2025.
The amount is to be allocated under the government’s flagship agricultural development programme, Sustenta, intended to integrate small producers into agricultural value chains It will provide technology transfer, production financing, and market linkages.
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The national director of Family Agriculture Development, Nilza Paúnde, cited in Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, said that the main beneficiaries of the project are small farmers willing to produce in an average area of 1.5 hectares for the technological packages of rice, sunflower, sesame, soybean and cotton.
“The minimum production area takes into account the business plan of each technological package, which will allow the producer to achieve a minimum income to meet their food needs. The definition of the beneficiaries took into account the structure of the agro-livestock sector, which is composed of 4,167,702 small farms”, Paúnde said.
The balance of the program points to an investment of over 7.8 billion meticais in the last two years in support of small farmers, emerging commercial producers and small and medium enterprises.
The document also states that agricultural exports grew by more than 69 percent, from 183 million dollars in the first half of 2021 to 310 million in the first six months of this year.
Paunde added that 2,071 new field extension workers were hired and trained, and the public network now has 3,817 technicians.
To reduce post-harvest losses, 3.3 million hermetic bags were delivered to 54,000 households, using a sealing system that protects the crops from humidity and pests.
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According to Paunde, the increase in agricultural production and productivity, largely driven by Sustenta, contributed to the removal of about five million Mozambicans from food insecurity. The number of Mozambicans at risk of food insecurity fell from about 12 million in 2020 to seven million in 2022.
