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Mozambique: Agriculture Minister Promises Fertiliser Industry
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Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
27 February 2008
Posted to the web 27 February 2008
Maputo
Mozambican Agriculture Minister Soares Nhaca promised on Wednesday that, by the start of the 2008/09 agricultural campaign, the country will have a small organic fertilizer processing industry.
Speaking at a round table in Maputo on the supply of fertilizers, he said that such an industry would reduce the price of fertilizer, as well as the need for imports. Indeed, he pledged that, in the 2008/09 campaign, the country will only import a single consignment of fertiliser.
The government, said Nhaca, wanted to guarantee the supply of fertiliser at sustainable prices. A small processing plant would thus be set up in the central province of Sofala, producing sacks of fertilizer of between 10 and 50 kilos, or possibly even smaller amounts, to make them accessible to poorer farmers.
"Fertilisers should be available in packs of one, two or three kilos", he said. "So far that hasn't happened, which makes it very difficult for farmers who don't have the money to buy a 50 kilo sack".
Nhaca said discussions are under way with the African Development Bank (ADB), and with other cooperation partners, to ensure the funds to finance this activity.
Mozambique uses 20-25,000 tonnes of fertilizer a year, which mans that it is the country that uses least fertiliser in the southern African region
Nhaca said a study is under way into the possibility of making fertilizer out of the large guano deposits in the southern province of Inhambane. Samples have been taken and research is under way involving three Mozambican laboratories, and one in South Africa.
"We hope that in the near future Mozambique can use its potential for organic fertilizers, which includes several other products as well as guano", said Nhaca. It is not clear how much guano exists in Inhambane, but during the colonial period it was exported to farms in what was then southern Rhodesia.
Nhaca stressed that fertilisers, along with improved seeds and better agricultural tools, were key to the government's hopes for a "Green Revolution" in Mozambique.
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"This is a multi-dimensional strategy to fight against hunger and poverty and its final target is to increase agricultural production and productivity in a competitive and sustainable manner", he said.
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| Copyright © 2008 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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