Nampula government suspends seed distribution to promote private sector – Mozambique

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Nampula government suspends seed distribution to promote private sector – Mozambique

8:43 CAT | 03 Nov 2016

Voa Portugues (File photo) / Street vendors in Nampula city, capital of Nampula province

In order to encourage the private sector to expand the sales network to rural areas, Nampula province is to stop distributing seeds to farmers

Agriculture in Nampula is generally a family business practiced by low-income rural households who still require government support. Among these, the number using improved seed is still low.

The idea of the government ceasing distribution of agricultural inputs comes at a time when agricultural and food security sectors continue to face challenges in the use of improved seeds and other technologies that could increase production.

The provincial director of Agriculture and Food Security in Nampula, Pedro Dzucule, says that government agricultural inputs operation compete with the private sector, which, he says, is not good for the market economy.

Dzucule says the government should only distribute seeds in emergencies, and then only to people who cannot obtain them in stores, and says that the mapping of such families has been carried out.

The provincial director continues, reporting that the government is currently strengthening its relationship with the private sector so that agribusiness companies increasingly move into districts where it has so far been the only service provider.

One of the government’s recommendations is that 60 percent of the District Development Fund goes to agribusinesses with greater focus on selling agricultural inputs. Some farmers in Nampula are unhappy with the idea, and believe that constant price rises will make acquiring seeds difficult, affecting production.

The 2016-2017 national agricultural season was launched on 28 October with the emphasis on producing more food for nutritional security and cash crops for exports in order to ensure foreign exchange inflows.

Source: Voa Portugues