Agra to fund nearly two million smallholder farmers

The announcement was made on Tuesday in Maputo by AGRA’s country Representative, Paulo Mole, at the official launch of its strategy for Mozambique (2023-2027), who said the initiative is intended to improve the living standards of the smallholders, especially young people who will be funded and assisted, so that their activities can pay off.

“Empowering youths so that they can set up their own initiatives and also employ others in agriculture is one of the goals of the present strategy,” Mole said, adding that the plan attaches new aspects such as resilience to climate change, nutrition and seeds in a bid to ensure a qualitative rise in production.

The African led institution attaches priority to crops such as maize, soybeans, cassava and rice, but, in order to support the smallholders’ livelihoods, it also intends to play a role in vegetable production.

The smallholders, Mole pointed out, will also receive capacity building in practices that enrich and fertilise the soils as well as using improved seeds, turning agriculture into an income generating activity.

AGRA, which operates in the Beira Corridor and the Zambezi Valley, in the country’s central region, intends to extend its activities to the Pemba-Lichinga Corridor, in northern Mozambique. With further support from its partners, the strategy will eventually reach the Limpopo and Maputo Corridors in the south.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Darcia Nhancale, said coordinated efforts in partnership with AGRA has made it possible to train 2,275 rural entrepreneurs, reaching more than 874,000 smallholders.

Under the partnership, 32 input wholesalers as well as 1,758 input retailers received assistance, making it much easier to sell several products through structured markets.

(AIM)