Maputo — The government of the northern Mozambican province of Niassa believes that limitations regarding access roads and logistics continue to constrain the province's agricultural potential.
According to Alberto Soares, representative of Niassa Provincial Business Council (CEP), speaking at a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Mito Albino, Niassa needs improved market connections as a prerequisite for transforming current production into a value chain capable of generating higher income and stimulating new investment.
Soares explained that Niassa already possesses a significant production base, which involves households, commercial farmers, and companies. These producers have capacity to supply both national and regional markets.
"However, the sector's growth remains hampered by challenges related to transport. We have already managed to supply neighboring Malawi and Tanzania, as well as other markets and indeed all of Mozambique, with maize and beans. But there is a crucial factor the government must address: road infrastructures", he said.
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The CEP representative said that most agricultural production takes place in rural areas, where tertiary roads play a decisive role in linking producers, buyers, and trading centers. "These roads are impassable, which means we will continue to face problems regarding prices, product shortages, and so on."
Improving access roads, he said, could trigger a cycle of economic growth, facilitating the movement of goods, expanding transport services, and increasing the capacity to purchase agricultural produce.
"Production is already underway. If I can produce on two or four hectares today, and I have a proper road and a market for the produce, then the person handling transport and logistics will be able to buy another truck the following year, and then another. That is how we build a value chain", he said.
For his part, the Minister acknowledged that logistics is a fundamental element in realizing the ambition to transform Niassa into a national agricultural hub, explaining that the government intends to work directly with local economic actors, as they are familiar with the province's key challenges and opportunities.
"We didn't want to do this without first talking to businesspeople; those of you on the ground, day in and day out, know Niassa better than we do. You understand the challenges and can help us define priorities," he declared.
According to the minister, the agricultural development strategy for the province is structured around three main areas: strengthening family farming, promoting commercial production, and supporting export-oriented producers.
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Regarding the export-oriented segment, Albino identified crops such as macadamia nuts, cashews, eucalyptus, sesame, soybeans, and pigeon peas as products with expansion potential.
The Minister also highlighted the importance of creating production clusters involving cooperatives, companies, and young entrepreneurs as a way to increase production scale and facilitate links between producers and markets. "Young people can form a company together and operate a production cluster. That is the way forward," he stated.
The country, he added, must advocate for the revitalization of agricultural training centers to build the capacity of producers and technicians in areas such as mechanization, irrigation, and production. "There is no agrarian transformation without skilled people", he said.
