The Tsangano district, located in the north of Tete province, produced 3,500 tonnes of wheat this year. Production took place on an area of 1873 hectares, taking advantage of the favourable agro-ecological conditions in the region, Radio Moçambique (RM) reported.
According to the director of the Tsangano district services for economic activities, Evans Trindade, the volume of wheat produced represents a significant increase of 74 per cent compared to the previous agricultural season.
This growth is a milestone for the region, which has stood out on the local agricultural scene as the main district in Tete with ideal conditions for producing this cereal.
Despite the significant increase in the harvest, Trindade highlighted a persistent problem: ‘most of the wheat produced in the district continues to be transported to neighbouring Malawi’. The reason for this is the lack of commercial players in the local market, which makes it difficult to sell the cereal within Mozambique.
‘Unfortunately, this lack of internal commercialisation means that a large part of wheat production is not used for the economic development of the district,’ he explained.
Because of this reality, most of the farmers who grow wheat in Tsangano do so mainly for subsistence, failing to fully exploit the economic potential that large-scale production could provide.
‘The lack of local buyers ends up being a limiting factor in turning production into a profitable commercial activity for the families involved,’ said Trindade.
Tsangano is the only district in Tete province with suitable agro-ecological conditions for wheat production, characterised by deep, well-drained soils distributed over gently rolling to undulating terrain, characteristics that favour agricultural mechanisation.
