About 1600 farmers are involved in planting 400 hectares of organic coffee in Chimanimani in an agroforestry project, considered to be the largest coffee plantation in Mozambique.

The project started in 2020 with the planting of 100 Arabica coffee seedlings in an experimental field in the buffer zone of the Chimanimani National Park, which yielded in the first harvest, in 2021, about 550 kilos of coffee, explains António Tomo, forest engineer In an interview with Lusa.

According to the information agency, Lusa, in 2020, the company introduced five varieties of seeds imported from Brazil and Zimbabwe, which allowed the production of 1.2 million coffee seedlings, which are being distributed to producers since the end of 2021 for the planting of 400 hectares, and which is expected to be completed in April.

"We hope in 10 years to reach the peak of Chimanimani coffee production," when the company reaches its goal of 3,000 farmers and producing on 3,500 hectares, 500 of which are company-owned, Antonio Tomo says.

"Even so, this year we will be the company with the largest area of coffee planted in Mozambique," he adds.

In addition to producing organic coffee in an agroforestry system, which includes the reforestation of degraded and deforested areas of the reserve to safeguard the soil, flora, and fauna, the company wants to create income.

Source: Lusa