CABO DELGADO EXCEEDS RICE PRODUCTION TARGET

The northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado in its last harvest exceeded the production target for rice laid down in the Food Production Action Plan (PAPA). For the year 2009/10 the province harvested 29,969 tonnes of rice, exceeding the target of 22,500 tonnes. According to the provincial government, the good harvest was due to increased productivity, which went up from one tonne to 2.4 tonnes per hectare. This was due to the timely distribution of better seeds, good rains and a campaign to encourage farmers to grow rice.During the agricultural campaign 172 tonnes of seeds were distributed to farmers and machinery was made available. An increase in the producer price of rice was also an incentive.There was a huge increase in the area under rice cultivation, up from only 1,865 hectares in 2008/09 to 14,820 hectares in 2009/10.Meanwhile, in the current agricultural campaign, the province has planted 8,694 hectares of maize, compared with a target of 7,520 hectares. In the last harvest only 4,999 hectares of maize were cultivated.
This should produce a harvest of 22,560 tonnes of maize. So far 19,822 tonnes have been harvested.According to the provincial government, the maize harvest could have been higher but productivity did not reach the planned level of three tonnes per hectare. This was because farmers did not receive the full technological package, including fertilizer.