The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) advocates the massification of mechanization in the practice of conservation agriculture, in order to help increase production and preserve the environment..

The approach, which is still relatively uncommon on the continent in general and in Mozambique in particular, was on the table on Tuesday at the first of three days of talks between members of the SADC Working Group on Conservation Agriculture, which is taking place in Maputo.

"In this specific dialogue meeting, one area we want to bring up is agricultural mechanization, because there is little knowledge that conservation agriculture can be mechanized and our interest is to complement what the government is doing in terms of agricultural mechanization," explained José Matsinhe, programme officer at the FAO office in Mozambique, quoted by Terra magazine.

In this sense, the organization plans to contribute to the introduction of conservation farming implements, which are seen as efficient for the practice of so-called environmentally friendly agriculture and which bring a cost-benefit ratio that is considered great for producers.

"We're talking about specific implements for conservation agriculture, which are very cheap and efficient. They compact the soil less, are environmentally friendly and have a number of advantages over conventional tillage," he said.

One of the aims of this advocacy is to enable the country to further expand the areas where conservation agriculture is practiced, a practice that has currently been the banner of many Non-Governmental Organizations.

Through a program funded by the FAO, Mozambique has managed to establish two regional platforms (Central and North) over the last four years to boost conservation agriculture.

At the moment, the focus is on the southern region, where a similar platform is expected to be launched next September in order to promote practices that will contribute to greater water conservation and soil improvement.