Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican Minister of Agriculture Celso Correia has pledged that there will be no scarcity of chickens during the coming festive season, despite the constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the independent television station STV.
Correia made the promise on Thursday in Namaacha district, on the border with Swaziland, where he inaugurated the “Mafavuka” poultry farm with an annual production capacity estimated at 6,000 tonnes.
Budgeted at 10 million US dollars, the poultry farm currently has two pavilions operating out of the envisaged 12, each one with a capacity to hold 56,000 chickens per production cycle and 500 tonnes per year. The farm has been equipped with high tech similar to that used in European countries by the poultry farming industry.
Correia reassured Mozambican producers that the government is committed to combat chicken smuggling which has been harming domestic production.
“After the meeting I held with the Mozambican Poultry Industry Association (AMIA) in Manica, 18 months ago, I challenged the chicken production sector to explore every means to ensure its growth,” he said.
One of the constraints raised at that meeting was the impact of the informal market through the smuggling that harms the sector.
Market prospects, 18 months ago, imposed a strong need for firm action by the government in partnership with every stakeholder in the sector to fight contraband. He said the time has come to hail the success of the joint efforts involving the Ministries of Agriculture, Industry and Trade, and the Interior, plus AMIA in Maputo province, which is one of the foremost corridors for the illegal import of chickens.
Correia said the inauguration of the Mafavuka poultry farm comes at a time when Mozambique has recorded a 16.5 per cent growth in chicken production over the first half of the year, compared with the same period in 2020. Since the last quarter of the year is generally marked by an increase of chicken consumption, this might boost annual growth to above 20 per cent.
“We will have a great year in chicken production which will stabilise market supply, in particular for the coming festive season,” the minister indicated.
He acknowledged the challenges faced by domestic farmers to purchase chicken feed domestically, mostly because of the high costs of raw material (maize and soya).
