771122E MANICA PLANS TO EXPORT 400 TONNES OF LYCHEES TO EUROPE

771122E MANICA PLANS TO EXPORT 400 TONNES OF LYCHEES TO EUROPE

Chimoio (Mozambique), 22 Nov (AIM) – Farmers in the central Mozambican province of Manica have set a target of over 400 tonnes of lychees to export to the European market.

This would be an increase of only one per cent on the 2021/2022 campaign.

Lychees are produced on a large scale in Barue, Manica and Sussundenga districts, and part of Macate district. Each lychee tree normally produces 30 to 45 kilos of fruit.

Speaking on Tuesday in Sussundenga, where she launched the lychee marketing campaign, the Manica provincial governor, Francisca Tomas, said it was a challenge for the Provincial Executive Council to empower producers of this fruit, helping them to increase their production and productivity

“Our greatest challenge is to work on producing fruit and other crops to grant our province the status of one of the greatest producers and exporters of the country”, she declared.

To attain this goal, she added, the government will continue to focus its attention on promoting the production of saplings, and fomenting fruit production in the family agricultural sector.

“Technical assistance to the producers is also our priority in order to obtain great quantities of high quality lychees”, said the governor. “Every year, we want to increase the number of producers and the area dedicated to fruit production. We know that with the fruit we can earn money, increase household incomes, and improve the economy of the province and the country”.

Tomas challenged all the agricultural research institutions to introduce new varieties of fruit, and to expand fruit production to other districts where the agro-ecological conditions are favourable. “This involves research on the soil, climate and the varieties of each type of fruit. Our challenge is that these institutions regard this as a priority, so that we can have an answer in a short period”.

“We want Manica to be a champion in fruit production”, said Tomas. “We have good quality fruit that can compete with the production of other countries, and it has space on the international market”.
(AIM)
Nm/pf (345)

(AIM / AIMENG)