27 June 2008
Maputo — Mozambique has imported 200 tonnes of seed potatoes from France in order to step up potato production in Maputo province, as part of the government's commitment to a "Green Revolution".
The Maputo Provincial Director of Agriculture, Setina Titosse, told AIM that potato was planted in an area of 800 hectares, and will be harvested next month.
Potato is produced in Boane and Moamba districts essentially to supply consumers in Maputo and Matola cities. Since this comes nowhere near meeting demand, the cities depend essentially depend on the import of South African potatoes.
The import of seed potato forms part of a strategy to reduce this dependence on South Africa, by increasing potato production in the southern provinces. Suitable areas for potato production have been identified in Maputo and Inhambane provinces.
This year it is expected that 140 tonnes of potatoes will be harvested in Inhassoro district in the northern part of Inhambane - not a very large figure, but the first time potatoes have been grown here in at least 35 years.
Meanwhile the Agriculture Ministry is expecting an overall increase in agricultural production of 7.5 per cent this year, thanks largely to favourable climatic conditions (despite the flooding in the Zambezi Valley at the start of the year).
Sugar is expected to remain Mozambique's most important cash crop. The latest projections for this year's sugar harvest, according to the government's Agricultural Promotion Centre, are 294,000 tonnes, up from 243,600 tonnes in 2007.
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