Prioritise agricultural research for self- sufficiency – Nyusi

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Prioritise agricultural research for self- sufficiency – Nyusi

7:03 CAT | 08 Feb 2017

Notícias

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Wednesday urged staff of the Ministry of Agriculture to prioritise agricultural research in order to avoid crop losses and thus ensure an improvement in the country’s self-sufficiency in food.

Nyusi was chairing a session of the Ministry’s Consultative Council, which discussed the targets for the current agricultural year, in which around four million agricultural producers are expected to cultivate 5.5 million hectares.

The President stressed the importance of freeing the country from dependence on imported food. Large amounts of foreign exchange are spent on importing those crops where Mozambique has not achieved self-sufficiency (the most important of these are rice and wheat).

He was speaking after he had visited several of the Ministry’s national directorates (covering veterinary science, agricultural extension and forestry services, among others), and the Mozambican Agricultural Research Institute (IIAM).

Nyusi called for “a matrix of work” which respected the variety of soil and climatic conditions in the country, set deadlines, and held officials responsible for implementing tasks.

“The climate and the soil are not the same throughout the country’, he said, “and hence the matrix of work must respond to these questions”. Responsibility was also key – so that, in the event of failing to meet targets, it could be known who was to blame.

Young people being trained as agricultural extensionists, Nyusi added, should behave in a disciplined fashion so as to guarantee maximum use of their contribution to agricultural production.

He called on the ministry’s staff to manage human resources in such a way that a favourable working environment was created, which would motivate cadres to remain in agriculture and not seek work elsewhere.

The President also called for respect for the Ministry’s assets, notably its vehicles, which should have an average useful life of five years, because the country does not have the resources for constantly purchasing new vehicles.

Source: AIM