3 September 2008
Maputo — The Mozambican government's Technical Unit for the Promotion of Rural Industry (UTPIR) has participated in the installation of over a hundred micro-processing units throughout the country, according to its director, Odete Samba.
The idea behind these units, she said, which are set up in coordination with the District Consultative Councils, is to complement the Local Initiative Investment Fund, under which the government has been allocating a minimum of seven million meticais (about 280,000 US dollars) a year from the state budget to each of the 128 districts.
Speaking on Tuesday, Samba said that the micro-industries are processing fruit, rice, cassava, vegetable oil, maize and other crops. She regarded such processing as a way to encourage the use and consumption of national products, and reduce the country's import bill. Nonetheless, she admitted that not enough surplus crops are produced to meet all the local needs.
Gradual improvements were needed to attain industries of quality. "Significant progress has been made in packaging, but we're still far from the desired standard", she said. "We are working with the Ministry of Health on the safety of the products, and at the same time promoting the goods and undertaking market research".
She believed that micro-industries in the countryside would stimulate development and an entrepreneurial spirit, which she regarded as crucial factors in the struggle against unemployment and poverty.
UTPIR is also supporting the production of national tools, and is working with six Mozambican companies that are producing threshing machines, presses, and brick making machines, among other equipment.
Samba said that UTPIR is also looking to create partnerships, set up demonstration centres, promote the manufacture of appropriate processing equipment, and seek funding for rural industry.
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