The Portuguese Minister of Agriculture and Food, Maria do Céu Antunes, said this Thursday, 23 November, in Maputo, that Mozambique has the conditions to help meet Portugal’s cereal import needs, and urged Portuguese entrepreneurs to invest more in the country’s agricultural sector.
“Mozambique clearly not only has the production conditions to be self-sufficient, but also to help in certain sectors,” explained the Portuguese minister, speaking to Lusa after meeting with some Portuguese businesspeople from the sector operating in the country.
“We are not self-sufficient in cereal production – for supply, human consumption or the production of feed and compound feed for the animals we have. We will always need to import, despite the margin we still have to grow internally. But the fact is that Mozambique can and must also contribute to this joint effort. It is with this in mind that we will work together,” she said.
The minister emphasised the “very favourable conditions for agricultural development” and agro-industrial activity in Mozambique, but that it still needs investment in logistics, transport chains and financing.
“Adding value, whether for domestic consumption or export. This is the country’s great potential. With improvements in logistics and more attractive financing conditions, there will clearly be a galvanisation of this sector,” she said.
Maria do Céu Antunes took part on Wednesday 22 November in Maputo in the first European Union-Mozambique Investment Forum, based on fostering economic relations between the European bloc and the country through the Global Gateway initiative.
Recalling the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and two major armed conflicts currently underway in Europe and the Middle East, the Portuguese Prime Minister emphasised the potential of investing in agriculture in Africa, particularly in Mozambique, issuing a challenge to Portuguese investors.
“It’s clearly a good time to rethink and boost investments in Africa, and here, specifically in Mozambique. I would emphasise the size of the country, its climate and soil conditions, which are absolutely fundamental and conducive to the development of an agricultural activity that enhances transformation and thus creates value,” she said.
The minister also said that, in terms of bilateral cooperation, Portugal is working with Mozambique to certify the quality of Mozambican food products.
“It has to do with food safety, seeds and their preservation and multiplication, which are also factors that boost agricultural activity and agri-business here in Mozambique and which, as part of the cooperation leveraged through the Strategic Plan for Cooperation 2022-2026, Portugal is developing with the Mozambican state,” she concluded.
