World Bank Visits Young Seed Producers Incubated by IIAM in Nampula, Mozambique

By Osvaldo Chiporia

NAMPULA, MOZAMBIQUE - The Northeast Zonal Center of the Mozambique Agricultural Research Institute (IIAM-CZnd), in collaboration with the Integrated Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Program (SUSTENTA) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER), is incubating a noteworthy project for the budding young seed producers. The project, generously funded by the World Bank via the National Fund for Sustainable Development (FNDS), has a mission to train young farmers in seed production to meet the seed market demand in Nampula and the broader northern region.

Eight young emerging farmers, having successfully navigated the rigorous incubation process, are the central beneficiaries of this initiative.

The Eight Young farmers ‘Incubated

On a significant day, May 23, 2023, the World Bank's Resident Manager, Pedro Arlindo, with the FNDS technical crew from Nampula and Maputo, arrived at the Ribáuè Agricultural Research Station. Their main agenda was to see the youth incubation initiative.

Eng. Belarmino Divage, the spearhead of the incubation project, gave the delegation a detailed overview of the initiative. This includes a comprehensive guide on aiding these youngsters from developing their business plans all the way to the marketing of their seed products. The young beneficiaries of the project spoke of their business strategies already receiving financial backing and divulged their visions and hopes regarding their nascent seed production enterprises, set in motion for the agrarian campaign of 2022/23. Eng Divage said, “The youths have changed the narrative in this area, as they are now supplying the market with seeds, which will eliminate hunger”.

Indeed this is a notable achievement of the training at IIAM which has seen the young agriculturists produce 2,500 kilograms of maize seed, 700 kilograms of cowpeas, and 400 kilograms of peanuts. These seeds have found their way to the local market via seed supply companies.

This collaboration, aiming to bolster the agrarian community and cater to the seed market demands, indeed augurs well for the future of seed production in Mozambique.

The author is from the Public Relations and Communication unit at the Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique - Centro Zonal Nordeste