The "Industrialise Mozambique" programme may be a solution to reverse post-harvest losses in the country, which currently stand at around 70 percent. In an interview with the weekly newspaper Domingo, Mohamed Valá, director general of the Mozambique Cereals Institute (ICM), explained that the program provides for the installation of processing industries in different parts of Mozambique that should be fed by domestic production.

With the same objective of reducing losses, the Government will acquire from COMETAL silos and 40-foot container warehouses for the conservation and later commercialization of agricultural products.

At the moment, the main cause of post-harvest losses are pests and humidity, derived from the poor conservation conditions of the products.

In the case of corn, depending on how it is preserved, losses can reach 18 percent, 15 percent, legumes, and 38 percent for vegetables, especially tomatoes.

To cope with the situation, the container warehouses and silos to be built by COMETAL will be equipped with temperature and humidity sensors, a cold system, adequate doors for drainage, and other features.

The weekly newspaper learned that the Government will acquire more than 400 warehouses-containers and silos, with a capacity to hold about 700 thousand tons, through the SUSTENTA project.

This equipment will be allocated to districts with great agricultural production potential to ensure the conservation and commercialization of the products.

It is also foreseen the acquisition of container-kiosks that will serve as stores for the storage and commercialization of agricultural inputs so that small producers no longer have to travel long distances to access these products. Amade Camal, General Director of COMETAL, who was speaking during the visit of the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Carlos Mesquita, said that it was decided to set up container warehouses to mitigate the difficulties that farmers face to conserve agricultural surpluses.