Mozambique has increased its production of certified seeds by 18% in the 2021-2022 agricultural season to reach 12,000 tons against just over 10,000 tons in the previous season, a government spokesman said Tuesday.

Speaking at the usual briefing after the Council of Ministers meeting, Filimão Suaze said that this increase by more than two thousand tons was possible thanks to the government's SUSTENTA initiative.

"The SUSTENTA program is already responsible for the consumption of 50% of certified seeds in the country," he advanced.

He also said that corn seed had the highest production, at about 4,500 tons, followed by rice seed, at about 2,800 tons. As a consequence of this success, the spokesperson ten know that seed imports have decreased by about 31%.

The provinces of Manica, Zambezia and Nampula are the largest producers of seed in the country, in the crops of corn, soybeans, sesame, beans, rice and peanuts, said the official.

Also according to the Executive, the use of pesticides grows at an annual average of about 30%. The use of fertilizers in Mozambique has seen an average growth of five times more in the last three years, rising from 6.38 kg per hectare in 2019 to 29.9 kg per hectare in 2021.

In the period under review, said the government spokesman, the volume of pesticides entering the country fell by 33% when compared to the previous campaign, a scenario that did not affect significantly the agricultural production, because there was no occurrence of pests of great economic impact. The average price of pesticides increased by 37% when compared to the previous campaign.