The project coordinator for the rehabilitation of the Baixo Limpopo Irrigation Project, Amélia Ruco, says that the degree of execution has already reached 92%, with its completion projected for December of the current year, that is, eight years after the beginning of the works.

It is an initiative financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), which has disbursed US$44 million for the purpose.

The project, which started in 2014, was executed along the Lower Limpopo Irrigation and covers the districts of Chonguene and Xai-Xai in the southern province of Gaza.

"Under the project several infrastructures are already built and it is at a stage of about 92 percent of its execution. It is already at the end. In principle this project was to be completed by June of this year, but due to various constraints we are in the process of requesting an extension for another six months at no additional cost," Amélia Ruco told AIM.

The project consists in the construction of infrastructures to increase production and productivity, having already concluded the drainage ditches, irrigation infrastructures, irrigation blocks, among other essential components for the maximization of the Lower Limpopo, benefiting more than eight thousand producers, mostly women.

The investment made in irrigation is in line with the Strategic Plan for Agricultural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which projects the rehabilitation of 3,050 hectares of the irrigated perimeter of Baixo Limpopo, expected to benefit peasant families and emerging farmers. It should be noted that the ADB is one of Mozambique's largest financial partners, financing several programs, including roads, bridges, energy, water and sanitation, health, and education.