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Investments in the Agricultural Sector Totalling Over $1B Between 2020 and 2024

Investments in the Agricultural Sector Totalling Over $1B Between 2020 and 2024

Over the last five years, the country’s agricultural sector has been boosted by significant investment totalling around 1.1 billion dollars (70.6 billion meticals). This amount was mobilised to boost strategic areas such as family farming, agricultural modernisation, rural poverty reduction and food security.

The data is contained in the report Balanço do Quinquénio 2020-24, published by the then Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER), which gives a detailed overview of the application of resources and the results achieved during that period.

Of the amounts mobilised, 704.7 million dollars (44.4 billion meticals) were actually spent, corresponding to 63% of the total. These resources were used for initiatives aimed at transforming the agricultural sector into a driving force behind the country’s economic and social development.

One of the highlights was the National Programme for the Integration of Family Farming into Productive Value Chains (Sustenta), ‘whose main objective is to increase the incomes of one million small farmers to levels above the food poverty line by 2025. This programme provided agricultural inputs, technical assistance and facilitated access to markets, promoting not only the improvement of production, but also the integration of farmers into productive value chains,’ says the document.

The report explains that the modernisation of the sector also included investments in agricultural mechanisation, the expansion of irrigated areas and the strengthening of the public rural extension network, essential pillars for increasing productivity and the resilience of small farmers in the face of the climatic and economic challenges facing the country.

This endeavour was funded by a solid base of international support, made up of various multilateral and bilateral institutions. Among the main external partners was the World Bank, which contributed 211.6 million dollars (13.5 billion meticals), followed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which provided 118.6 million dollars (7.6 billion meticals).

The African Development Bank (AfDB) supported the sector with 39.1 million dollars (2.5 billion meticals), while the Italian Development Cooperation Agency (AICS) allocated 44.3 million dollars (2.8 billion meticals). Austrian Development Cooperation (CAD), for its part, contributed 3.7 million dollars (235 million meticals). In total, international partners mobilised 417.3 million dollars (26.3 billion meticals).

‘Among the main external partners is the World Bank, which contributed 211.6 million dollars, followed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which provided 118.6 million dollars’

In addition to external revenue, the government secured around 120 million dollars (7.6 billion meticals) in its own revenue, mainly from export taxes on products such as cashew nuts, cotton and wood.

At the same time, tax revenue accumulated for internal investments in the sector totalled 83.2 million dollars (5.2 billion meticals). In addition, 417.3 million dollars (26.3 billion meticals) in external resources were carried over to the next five-year period, ensuring the continuity of the projects started.

Despite the progress made, the report identifies some challenges, such as budgetary unpredictability and delays in the disbursement of resources, which have partially jeopardised the maintenance of public assets and the monitoring of sectoral activities. ‘However, the sector’s resilience was evident, even in the face of difficulties such as the covid-19 pandemic and extreme weather events that affected the country during the period,’ reads the document.

For the next five years, the now Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries hopes to consolidate the progress made, building on the resources carried over and the projects underway.

The report concludes that continued investment in the agri-livestock sector will be essential to transform agriculture into an engine of sustainable development, promoting food security, increasing productivity and reducing rural poverty in Mozambique, in line with the objectives of the Strategic Plan for the Development of the Agricultural Sector (PEDSA 2030).

Text: Felisberto Ruco

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