The harvest of the last rice production campaign has encouraged the 72 members of the “Ahikhomeni Vha Vhassati” agricultural cooperative, in Chókwè district, Gaza province.
Initially founded as an association in 2016, it became a cooperative in 2020, the year in which it marked its first best rice production. In the current campaign, which ran from November last year to June this year, it produced over 230 tonnes of rice in an area of 74 hectares.
According to Lizete Mucasse, president of the cooperative, the results are the result of support from the government, through the Sustenta programme, from Hidráulica de Chókwè (HICEP) and from the Mozambican Association for the Promotion of Modern Cooperativism (AMPCM).
The support included the costs of production and marketing, which allowed the product to be placed at a good price, relative to that practiced in the local market, a fact that further encourages the cooperative members.
Edgar Langa, programme officer at the cooperative, said that Sustenta took part in the acquisition of seeds, insecticides and placing the product on the market, while HICEP was responsible for the work of preparing the fields, which included ploughing, harrowing, mechanical launching of the seed and supply of water for irrigation.
AMPCM trained the cooperative members, as well as seconding an agricultural extensionist and providing working tools such as boots, shovels, gloves, wheelbarrows and payment for support staff. It also provided a rice peeling machine and financed the production of vegetables.
Lisete Mucasse told “Noticias” that, thanks to the revenue from the sale of rice, she was able to have her vehicle that had a serious breakdown repaired. She said that the gains are reflected in all the families of the members of the cooperative.
“Some people have improved their homes and refurbished their furniture, bought electrical appliances and are developing other unique projects with the money from rice sales,” he said.
He pointed to the lack of adequate equipment such as tractors and harvesting machines as an obstacle to the cooperative’s work.
