The country’s capital city is losing around 47,000 jobs by importing potatoes, onions and tomatoes. The information was provided by the Mozambican Chamber of Commerce during the 1st Agriculture Forum in Maputo City.
In the 2020/2021 agricultural campaign Maputo City produced a total of 173,483 tonnes of various crops, as compared to 164,000 tonnes in 2019/2020, which represents a rise of five percent. However, the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce says the country is still dependent on imports and there are considerable losses at the Maputo City level.
“We would need 20,000 people to produce those 51,000 tonnes of potatoes that we are importing. In tomatoes, it is 12,000 jobs and in onions, 15,000 jobs. In total, the country’s capital loses around 47,000 jobs by importing potatoes, onions and tomatoes,” said Hipólito Hamela, financial advisor to the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce.
For its part, the Secretariat of State in Maputo City, aware of the problems caused by dependence on imports, advocated the implementation of new strategies in agricultural production and marketing in the capital.
“Betting on transformation and modernisation in the way production and marketing is organised, involving the private sector and ensuring greater integration of the family sector in the national and international market, selecting strategic crops (cereals and vegetables) for domestic consumption and export, in order to accelerate the income of families, creating more jobs and food and nutritional self-sufficiency,” said Vicente Joaquim, Secretary of State in Maputo City, cited by O País.
The positions were defended, this Wednesday, during the first Agriculture Forum in Maputo City, under the slogan “Challenges to Reduce Imports.
