India pigeon pea imports from top supplier Mozambique delayed, lifting prices
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Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has called on all those interested in investing in Mozambique, particularly in agriculture, to waste no time, and to take advantage of the opportunities, potential and facilities that the country offers.
He was speaking in Addis Ababa on Tuesday at a meeting of the US-Africa Business Forum where he was the main moderator at a round table on “Creating Successful Agro-Businesses”.
Nyusi said that the choice of agriculture and agro-processing as one of the foci of the debates at the African Union summit that ended on Monday was a recognition that agriculture is the main activity and basis for development of many countries across the world, including Mozambique.
He added that agro-processing in Mozambique is still at an embryonic phase, and is thus a great opportunity for investment.
“Agriculture induces the development of agro-business”, said Nyusi. “We are ready, we are open, the processes are facilitated, and we are avoiding more red tape”.
“We hope that from this round table, the bases can be laid for partnerships between Africa and the public and private sectors of the United States”, the President continued. “We hope this will be a secure platform for mobilising private investment that will, in a sustainable manner, guarantee the development of agro-business in our countries on the basis of mutual advantages and gains”.
The theme for the round table, he said, required a reflection on the policies, strategies, programmes, projects and actions necessary for a viable commercial agriculture. “We need the vision and the will of political leaderships who are truly committed to generating changes capable of promoting agriculture and trade”, he declared.
These policies, Nyusi stressed, should help reduce the risk of investing in agriculture and encourage private businesses to put their financial resources into agriculture, certain that they will have a return on their investments.
For agricultural policies to generate structural changes, Nyusi argued that agricultural producers themselves should be put at the centre of the strategy, creating in them a new mentality.
Nyusi believed that the question is how to transform Africa’s great potential into resources at the service of the social growth and progress of the peoples of the continent. “That is the challenges that brings us to this round table”, he said.
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