ProSavana will be developed in the north of the country, mostly along the Nacala Development Corridor, to increase agricultural productivity, with a strong component of technology transfer.
It covers about 700,000 hectares, and is based on a project that Japan implemented in Brazil in the 1970s, which revolutionised agricultural production in an area now regarded as the most productive in Brazil.
On Wednesday a memorandum of understanding was signed in the Japanese capital city Tokyo at the end of a working visit by Mozambique’s Agriculture Minister Jose Pacheco.
Speaking after signing the memorandum, Pacheco said “once we have the master plan we will know what the contribution of each of the parties in the project will be for the implementation of ProSavana”.
The document was also signed by the Deputy President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tsuneo Kurokawa, and the Director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), Fernando de Abreu.
Pacheco told journalists that the agricultural extension component of the project has not yet advanced to the desired level, but that the conditions have been created to accelerate progress.
One of the ultimate goals of ProSavana is to equip farmers with the ability to practice commercial agriculture, producing goods for the internal market and for export. Agricultural extension is the means to ensure that the transfer of new production technologies reaches the thousands of farmers still involved in subsistence agriculture in the Nacala Corridor.
This year, according to the Minister, agricultural extension will be driven forward by new staff who will join other specialists in the public and private sector. The first big impact of this injection will be during the forthcoming 2013/2014 agricultural campaign.
The trilateral commission of Mozambique, Japan and Brazil also agreed that the agricultural research mechanisms looking at the types of crop cultures to be used have been established locally and are progressing vigorously. Technicians are currently testing various varieties of maize, beans, soya and cotton.
Pacheco stressed that what is now important is to consolidate the partnership between the three countries, especially strengthening dialogue to ensure the participation of all the actors in the value chain in agricultural production in the Nacala Corridor.
On Wednesday Minister Pacheco visited the company Fuji Oil which is involved in the production and processing of Soya. Fuji Oil has indicated that it is interested in investing in Mozambique.
He also visited the Japan International Research Centre for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Post published in: Africa News