The Agriculture Sector plans to restart the issue of labels in seed certification, to ensure the traceability of proven lots and reduce the circulation of improper inputs.

This measure aims to address the precariousness or lack of infrastructure, equipment and human resources at border and internal inspection posts, which is a challenge for the National Directorate of Agricultural and Livestock Health and Biosafety in controlling seed quality and certification.

The information was shared Thursday by the inspector-general of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rui Mapatse, at the II Annual Meeting of Planning and Performance Evaluation in the Sub-sector of Agro-livestock Health and Biosecurity.

To the Notícias newspaper, Rui Mapatse also told that there will be an evaluation for the reintroduction of "e-vouchers" in the availability of inputs, allowing the involvement of "agro-dealers" in the production zones, to guarantee sustainability in the producers' access to quality seed.

He mentioned that under the SUSTENTA program, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER), there has been an increase in the demand for seed in order to increase agricultural productivity.

"Last season there was a growth in seed produced by about 58 percent, moving Agriculture concerned about fake seed circulation Seed distribution from 6,891 tons in 2019- 2020 to 11,961 in 2020- 2021.

However, there is still a deficit of this input for the increase of productivity, and additional efforts are needed to adequate the monitoring of the quality of the seed that reaches the producers," he highlighted.

He added that in order to contribute to the increase in productivity and income of producers last season the Sub-Committee for Registration and Release of Varieties approved the provisional registration of 14 varieties, of rice, barley, soybeans, cotton and corn crops, proposed by the Mozambique Agricultural Research Institute and private companies.

In this context, 1,823 tons of improved seeds and 2,690 tons of fertilizers were made available to producers throughout the country, resulting in increased production of corn, rice, soybeans, and beans.

"This achievement is coupled with the effort made by MADER in the allocation of resources for the control of pests, and in the past year there was a reduction in infestation levels of pests and diseases such as the invasive caterpillar in crops, elegant locust and funnel worm in corn. However, we continue to report the occurrence of Panama disease in banana plantations in the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado," he said.