AGRA disburses US$28 million for agriculture in Mozambique

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AGRA disburses US$28 million for agriculture in Mozambique

2:25 CAT | 19 Jul 2023

Photo: O País

The Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) will make US$28 million (around 1.7 billion meticais) available for investments in the country’s main development corridors (Nacala, Beira, Pemba and Lichinga, Limpopo and Maputo and the Zambezi Valley region) over the next five years.

The amount was announced this Tuesday at the launch in Maputo of the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa Strategy for Mozambique covering the period 2023 to 2027.

AGRA, which was founded by Kofi Annan, recognizes the importance of infrastructure for the flow of production, with interventions focusing on technical support to farmers.

“For the third strategy, our investment is around US$28 million for five years, focused on supporting the competitiveness of micro and small companies so that they have the capacity to bring inputs into the hands of producers and, also, be able to sell their production,” explained Paulo Mole, AGRA representative in Mozambique.

The support of the international organisation, founded in 2006 by the former Secretary General of the United Nations, focuses on the inclusive development of markets, sustainable agriculture, seed system development and support for the government in matters of policy reform.

Concerning access routes for the flow of agricultural production, Mole explained: “The issue of infrastructure is not a direct issue of AGRA support. We recognize the importance of tertiary roads for the flow of production, but, for the country to be able to visualize the importance of infrastructure, producers must have something to sell.”

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Darcia Nhancale, said in her intervention that the joint work between the Mozambican government and AGRA had made it possible to identify constraints impeding the development of agriculture, hence the greater clarity in the areas of intervention.

“We identified the following areas: institutional strengthening and reform of our agrarian policies,” Nhancale said.

AGRA supports around 800,000 producers in Mozambique, and has invested over US$16 million over the last five years, corresponding to more than one billion meticais at current exchange rates.

Source: O País