The President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi has just inaugurated the Massingir Valey Farm, an agricultural enterprise whose investment amounts to 150 million dollars, in Gaza province.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER), the project is designed to meet national needs for meat and milk production, and for export, with particular emphasis on the People's Republic of China and Saudi Arabia.

Massingir Valley Farms, which has become one of the largest alfalfa (lucerne) plantations for fodder production in Africa, has already generated 200 new direct jobs in 18 months and has set up with state-of-the-art production technology, most notably the automated irrigation system consisting of 50-hectare pivots.

The system promotes precision farming, saving about 70% of water needed to cover this plantation.

Gaza province has the largest national herd, with about 400,000 head, followed by Maputo and Inhambane provinces. This year, the livestock sector will grow about 9%, where meat production will grow 15%.

The Government's priority, says the MADER note, has been the development of family farming "because the majority of the Mozambican population has agriculture as its main source of income, but our strategic approach also foresees the emergence of commercial agriculture.