Mozambique: President expects 5% increase in food production this year

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Mozambique: President expects 5% increase in food production this year

10:19 CAT | 16 May 2025

Photo: Presidency

Mozambique’s president announced on Thursday a growth forecast of 5% in agricultural production in 2025, following on from last year’s growth, despite the difficulties caused by climate shocks and social unrest.

“Despite the adversities (…), the 2024 campaign was positive in terms of food crop production. During this period, there was growth of around 9% in cereals, 7% in legumes and 12% in roots and tubers, with cassava standing out,” announced Daniel Chapo.

The Head of State launched the 2025 Agricultural Marketing Campaign yesterday in Sussundenga, a district in the central province of Manica, highlighting that, in relation to cash crops, there was growth in cashew and macadamia nuts of 67% and 32%, respectively.

“The sugar sub-sector, after a period of decline due to bad weather in previous campaigns, is showing signs of recovery with growth of around 10%,” Chapo added.

He pointed out that the 2024 Agricultural Marketing Campaign indicates that 20,104,301 tonnes of various products were marketed, compared to 17,257,904 tonnes in 2023, a growth of 14% compared to 2023.

Chapo added that the agricultural sector’s production plan for 2025 forecasts overall growth of 5%, due to a 2% increase in the production area, an increase in the number of families involved in agriculture, and investment in new areas of commercial agriculture, in addition to “an increase in the number of families with access to means of production”.

“Mozambique is laying the foundations for its economic independence, where economic diversification is essential to reduce our dependence on volatile markets and ensure stable incomes for our farmers and, consequently, for our producers, our traders and the population in general,” said the president.

Agriculture, he continued, “thus gains a strategic role, because by creating multiple value chains, we boost local agro-industries and generate employment throughout the country.”

He also acknowledged that the launch of this campaign “comes when the country has just gone through turbulent times,” referring to the post-election demonstrations, which he again described as “violent, illegal and criminal.”

“They culminated in the destruction of public and private infrastructure, affecting the social and productive fabric of the economy, resulting in a negative variation in Gross Domestic Product [GDP] of around 4.9% [in 2025],” he warned in the same speech.

Daniel Chapo also recalled the impact of climate shocks, namely cyclones Dikeledi, Chido and Jude, which caused heavy rains, floods and flooding from December to March, especially in the north of the country, affecting the productive sector.

“We saw neighbours helping neighbours to rebuild barns, communities rebuilding roads, women rebuilding their market stalls, young people carrying baskets of seeds to replace what had been lost. If it weren’t for the resilience of the Mozambican people, a united people (…), the 4.9% decline in our GDP would be even greater,” acknowledged the Head of State.

Daniel Chapo urged producers and those involved in agriculture to publicise the intervention measures taken by economic agents in the marketing sector, to “ensure the absorption of surplus production and improve coordination between actors in the production and commercial value chain, to guarantee food security”.

For this campaign, he said that the government had “taken timely measures to halt the economic decline,” highlighting the creation of the Economic Recovery Fund, with an initial allocation of 319.5 million meticais (€4.4 million), to “ensure financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as productive sectors with high potential for economic growth.”

Source: Lusa