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Guebuza Praises Food Production Increases in Barue(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Thursday praised Barue district, in the central province of Manica, for creating a value chain in food production which is doing away with the problems associated with food insecurity. He was praising the achievements of the district at a rally held in Catandica, the district capital, as part of his "open and inclusive presidency" in Manica. Before the rally, Guebuza visited the Agricultural Marketing Company (ECA) and the Centre for the Provision of Agricultural Services (CPSA), which are undertaking various initiatives in partnership with peasant associations, seeking to raise farmers' production by replacing subsistence agriculture, reliant on short-handled hoes, with mechanized agriculture. The result should be a sharp rise in yields per hectare. ECA is a private company which began operations in 2010. It works with six peasant associations with a total membership of over 2,000. They grow maize, which is then processed into grist used to produce a maize beer known as "Chibuko". CPSA is a public-private investment which began in 2011, under the government's Strategic Plan for the Development of the Agricultural Sector (PEDSA). Its main objective is to increase production and productivity through mechanization, and through dealing with the entire agricultural value chain (rural extension, inputs, production, processing, conservation and marketing). The authorities are optimistic that meeting these goals will cover food security problems in Barue, and allow food to be supplied to other districts, thus contributing to sustainable development. These and other initiatives, Guebuza said, are changing the face of Catandica, and indeed the whole of Barue district, judging by the number of brick houses under construction in the town, and the roads being built across the district. Guebuza praised the role of the District Consultative Council which had decided to allocate part of the District Development Fund (FDD) for mechanizing agriculture and for opening roads which can be used to take agricultural produce to market. The FDD is a fund which began in 2006 as the allocation of seven million meticais (about 229,000 US dollars) from the state budget to each of the 128 districts, to support viable projects that can boost food production and create jobs. The roads, Guebuza said, will stimulate development because they will increase the easy circulation of people and goods, even on rainy days. But this all depended on the country remaining united, because unity would defeat any obstacles that might arise. "Unity defeated colonialism and brought independence", Guebuza said. "It brought peace and in peace Mozambicans can continue to fight for the growth of the country," "Unity, peace and development remain our goals", the president stressed - but to achieve them "there must be dialogue among us". Dialogue, he insisted, must be constant "at home, in one's neighbourhood, and in society up to the political level, because only in this way can people benefit from each other's ideas". Copyright Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |