About US$20 million will be spent on a baseline study for coffee production in Gorongosa National Park, in the central province of Sofala. The study to be financed by the Dutch authorities, according to the administrator of Gorongosa district, Pedro Massengue, will cover 45 beneficiaries, as well as enhance the biodiversity of the district.

The administrator, cited in the Maputo daily newspaper "Noticias" on 3 January, said that the project will also benefit 15 producers who will be trained in conservation issues, in an initiative that will also cover schools to reduce the rates of chronic malnutrition among children.

"The coffee from Gorongosa is popular in the United Kingdom because it is organic and its production does not depend on any chemical product", Massengue said.

According to the source, similar projects have a direct impact "on the acquisition of means of transport, growth in the number of flour mills, construction of improved houses, carpentry and mechanical workshops, among others."

The administrator also recalled that 152.3 tonnes of organic coffee produced in Gorongosa will be exported to the European and American markets, boosting the lives of family sector producers.