Mozambique is strategically pivoting its agricultural sector from predominantly subsistence production to an income-generating model, a crucial national effort detailed by Jaime Chissico, the Ministry of Agriculture’s national director of Cooperation and Investment. This transition, which is fundamental to replacing food imports and securing producer income, faces formidable systemic challenges, including pervasive low production and productivity rates, severe constraints from climate change, critical infrastructure deficits, and a persistent lack of robust agricultural research.
The government has already outlined specific value chains, maize, poultry, soya, legumes, vegetables, and red meat, to drive this commercialisation, basing the selection on the country’s trade balance and climatic suitability. As the new 2025/2026 rainy season commenced in October, the urgency to modernise the sector is palpable. Chissico emphasised the need for significant investment in high-quality seed technologies to boost yields, improve pest and disease control through biosafety measures, and urgently upgrade the country’s irrigation systems. A key organisational strategy involves leveraging the power of cooperatives to establish stronger national production blocks, which will facilitate technical assistance and help foster an independent agricultural sector. Crucially, the authorities are also in the process of creating dedicated credit lines to improve financing access for the sector, which has seen substantial prior investment of approximately US$1.1 billion (€952.9 million) over the last five years.
A significant pillar of this revitalisation strategy is strengthened cooperation with Brazil. Speaking at the Mozambique-Brazil business forum in Maputo, Chissico expressed strong interest in technical exchange, particularly for the training of researchers and technicians and the adoption of Brazilian genetic improvement for new, climate-adaptable seed varieties. The partnership is also targeted at the livestock sector, with plans to improve cattle through embryo transfer and the establishment of new laboratories. This desire for deeper collaboration comes as bilateral trade exceeded US$100 million (€87.6 million) in 2024, although the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) notes that this figure remains insufficient given the potential. Brazil’s own data for 2023 reflects this under-representation, showing its total investment in Mozambique at a modest US$15 million (€13.03 million), ranking the nation 71st on its list of foreign investments, underscoring the mutual goal to diversify and deepen economic ties.
