Around US$20 million provided by the Kingdom of the Netherlands will be injected to carry out a study on coffee production in Gorongosa.
According to newspaper Notícias, the study also aims to boost the district’s biodiversity.
This research is expected to cover around 45,000 beneficiaries, including 15 producers who will be trained in conservation. The initiative will also focus on schools with a view to contributing to reducing chronic malnutrition amongst children. In fact, the administrative authorities believe that it is unjustifiable that Gorongosa, as the granary of Sofala province, has malnourished children.
In general, the Gorongosa mountain range has various water resources, is made up of 17 mountains, occupies an area of 867 square kilometres, registers mild temperatures and has rain almost all year round.
Recently, it was announced that 152.3 tonnes of organic coffee produced in that region was exported to the European and American markets, a fact that is boosting the lives of the producers of this crop’s family sector.
The district administrator, Pedro Mussengue, said that the impact of these exports was directly reflected in the acquisition of vehicles, in the growth of small mills and in the construction of small houses, carpentries, metal workshops and workshops. He also underlined that coffee production in Gorongosa district has resulted in multiple advantages in the value chain, covering producers, growers, processors, exporters and consumers.
“Gorongosa coffee is most consumed in the UK because it is organic, as its production does not rely on any chemicals. It is a natural type with no negative effects on man, and a flagship production in our district,” said the administrator.
Mussengue expressed his satisfaction for the fact that several peasant families have improved their lives, the great majority of which involved women and youths.
He hopes and intends that the coffee culture will catapult even more the life of the rural community, including the restoration of the flora, mainly in the Gorongosa mountains.