In the northern province of Nampula, 42 of the 115 emerging small commercial farmers (PACEs) who are part of Mozambique’s flagship agricultural development program Sustenta have received tractors and other equipment.
Mety Gondola, the Secretary of State for Nampula, said this on Saturday when he presented five of these tractors to farmers in the Corrane administrative post in Meconta district, bringing the total number of farmers in Corrane who benefit from tractors to eight.
The distribution of the tractors, according to Gondola, demonstrates the government’s commitment to the battle against food poverty and hunger.
“Of the 115 PACEs in the province, it was agreed that 10 would receive trucks and the other 105 tractors”, he said. “The delivery is gradual, taking into account indicators such as the number of districts with a high potential for mechanisation, and where there is also a high potential for including families within the production chain. With this, we shall be able to affect the social indicators in our province”.
Gondola explained that the programme includes assistance and interventions throughout the production chain, making agricultural inputs available to farmers, and helping open markets for them to place their products.
Fatima Sebastiao, a Corrane farmer who cultivates 200 hectares, is one of the PACEs who on Saturday received a tractor and the associated tools. She said the equipment will be very useful for the work of the smallholder farmers she assists.
“This season, because of the irregular rainfall, I only managed to cultivate 23 hectares of sesame, from which I harvested five tonnes, and nine hectares of beans”, she said. “Last year, I bought a powerful tractor, and the one I have just received will help improve the work, and facilitate the smallholders whom I assist in the Framework of Sustenta”.
Sustenta is a national programme intended to integrate household agriculture into productive value chains. Its purpose is to improve the quality of life of rural families through the promotion of sustainable agriculture.
