Mozambique: No barriers to free export of pigeon peas to India, says CTA - Watch
Screen grab: Miramar
About three million citizens have benefited from direct food assistance in the context of extreme weather events that hit Mozambique over the last five years, according to the Minister of Agriculture, Celso Correia.
The extreme events in question are cyclones Idai and Kenneth, but the minister was also referring to the terrorism that has been plaguing the northern province of Cabo Delgado and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are still deeply experiencing the effects of these shocks that converged and brought with them very serious consequences. The consequences are not only for those thousands of people who benefited from food support, but also for companies”, the Minister said, speaking on Wednesday at an Agribusiness, Nutrition and Food Industry Conference, taking place in Maputo.
According to Correia, the government has not yet ascertained the real cost of the crises that have affected the country over the last five years, with a view to assessing the performance of Mozambican society.
“Millions of dollars had to be diverted from other initiatives to feed these families and avoid an unprecedented food crisis, as we are seeing in the Sahel region”, he said.
The event is organized by the Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA) in partnership with the Network of Companies for Expanding Nutrition in Mozambique, an initiative of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
For his part, CTA chairperson, Agostinho Vuma praised GAIN for supporting initiatives aimed at improving food fortification and reducing malnutrition rates.
Vuma pointed to the active participation of the private sector, academia and cooperation partners in the process of revising the food fortification decree, and the control of land, sea and air borders, which are considered to be hotspots for smuggling.
“We propose that the school feeding pilot project be implemented by contracting Mozambican producers to supply food to reduce malnutrition among schoolchildren”, he said.
Gaspar Cuambe, director of GAIN in Mozambique, noted that COP28 is currently taking place in Dubai, a global initiative that discusses issues related to the environment.
He also revealed that his organization, in partnership with Egypt, is chairing the I-CAN initiative, which is a programme that promotes actions to protect the climate and promote nutrition.
Watch the Miramar report.
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