President Filipe Nyusi on 20 April launched the 2022/2023 agricultural marketing campaign in the district of Marracuene, 30 kilometres north of Maputo.
The target for this year is slightly more than 17 million tonnes of assorted crops: 21 per cent of this figure should be grain, with root crops accounting for 45 per cent, vegetables 13 per cent, pulses 11 per cent, oilseeds four per cent, and miscellaneous other crops 20 per cent.
President Nyusi reaffirmed the government's commitment to promoting industrialisation to stimulate the expansion of agricultural production. This would involve "continuing the reforms that are underway to attract investment, alongside building infrastructure in rural areas, particularly roads and electrification".
President Nyusi also challenged farmers to boost the production of onions and potatoes to improve the country's balance of trade. He said that Mozambique is continuing to import potatoes that have been rejected by other countries.
Statistics quoted by the President show that in 2020 Mozambique exported agricultural produce valued at US$604.2 million. However, agricultural imports were over 50 per cent higher at US$998.5 million. He lamented that "this means that we recorded a negative trade balance in agriculture of over US$394 million".
