Mozambique’s private sector on Tuesday called for the creation of digital platforms and information systems targeting smallholder farmers, arguing that such tools could facilitate access to financing and drive the transformation of the country’s agricultural sector.
The position was presented during a panel discussion on the theme ‘Digital Transformation: A Factor to Boost the Competitiveness of the Agribusiness Value Chain’, held as part of the 21st Annual Private Sector Conference (CASP 2026).
Mohamed Zameer Adam, representing the Digital Transformation portfolio at the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), advocated for services that improve farmers’ access to information and training, including early-warning systems for storms and crop pests.
According to Adam, digital platforms should also enable the digitalisation and recording of smallholder activity, creating the conditions for banks and other financial institutions to extend credit to the sector. ‘This will allow banks or financing agencies to provide funding to these farmers or agricultural companies,’ he said.
João Gaspar, president of the Mozambican Fintech Association, acknowledged that banks face significant difficulties in extending credit to smallholder producers due to the absence of reliable mechanisms to assess their activity and repayment capacity. ‘There are no sales estimates, no electronic records of production, no records of payments or of the purchases they make when buying inputs and products. They are completely outside the information system,’ he said.
Gaspar argued that the introduction of information systems in agriculture could strengthen trust among producers, buyers, sellers, and financial institutions. ‘As long as we do not bring information systems to this farmer — so that he can be, so to speak, digitalised in terms of his manufacturing and production processes — we do not truly gain what is the key word in all of this, which is trust,’ he stated.
He added that this trust is essential both for commercial relationships and for the granting of credit.
Adilson Gomes, president of the Agency for Digital Transformation and Innovation, cited data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries indicating that 70% of Mozambique’s population depends on agriculture, even though the sector contributes only 25% to the national economy.
Gomes linked this disparity to the state’s limited capacity to identify citizens, noting that approximately 25 million people lack formal identification. ‘We need to guarantee the identity of our citizens. We need to ensure that the entire chain is connected. We need to ensure that the farmer can produce, know where to sell, how to transport, and how to manage this entire chain,’ he said.
Gomes also argued for investment in technologies that are accessible to local producers, while acknowledging that the introduction of digital tools alone would not resolve the challenges facing the national agricultural sector. ‘We must engage all creative startups in the world with creative solutions. If we do not address the question of how to deliver a digital service to a citizen who cannot read or write, or interact with that technology, that will be our great dilemma,’ he concluded.
The 21st Annual Private Sector Conference (CASP 2026), which concluded on Tuesday in Maputo, brought together government representatives, business leaders, and development partners to discuss reforms and investments aimed at strengthening domestic production, local processing, and the competitiveness of the Mozambican economy.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/15/negocios/empresas/casp-2026-sector-privado-defende-plataformas-digitais-para-transformar-a-agricultura/
