Government Expects an ‘Encouraging’ Harvest

11 May 2011

Maputo — The Mozambican government expects “encouraging results” from this year’s harvest, despite the torrential rains and flooding that affected parts of the country in the first quarter of the year.

Agriculture Minister Jose Pacheco on Wednesday told the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic that the flooding had wiped out crops on 21,312 hectares – but this was only 0.5 per cent of the area planted.

He said the government expects an 8.6 per cent growth in agricultural production and a 6.7 per cent growth in livestock this year.

In absolute figures, a harvest of 12.26 million tonnes of food crops is expected, said Pacheco. Production of root crops (mostly cassava) is expected to rise by 8.6 per cent, to reach 10.85 million tonnes.

As for grains, the harvest is expected to reach 2.92 million tonnes, a 3.9 per cent increase on the 2010 figure. For pulses, the forecast harvest is 436,430 tonnes and for vegetables, it is 975,000 tonnes. These are increases of 3.6 and 14.3 per cent respectively.

As for cash crops, the 2010-2011 campaign has led to the marketing of 110,000 tonnes of cashew nuts, am increase of 15 per cent. High world cotton prices, are driving a sharp growth in cotton production in Mozambique. Pacheco expected the cotton harvest to reach 70,000 tonnes, 70 per cent more than last year.

For tobacco too, the expected production is 70,000 tonnes, which is a five per cent rise. For sunflower, the forecast is production of 18,638 tonnes (an increase of 29 per cent), while for sesame Pacheco predicted an enormous rise of 66 per cent, bringing production to almost 105,000 tonnes.

“The challenges we face”, the Minister said, “go beyond production in the fields, and we are thus banking on strengthening the entire value chain, from research and extension, supplies of inputs, through to marketing of surplus, processing and conservation”.

In particular, agro-processing was vital in order to add value to crops and preserve them. The government was therefore committed to establishing agro-industries in agricultural production areas. This “rural industrialization” included setting up units to process maize, rice, cassava, oilseeds, fruit and vegetables.

The maize processing unit in Angonia district, Tete province, and the rice processing plant in Namacurra, in Zambezia province, both located in the Zambezi Valley, should both begin production by the end of this year, said Pacheco.

“Success in food production depends on the participation and commitment of all citizens”, he declared. “Let us all redouble our efforts in the great task of guaranteeing food and nutritional security, and turning agriculture into a business”.

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