Mozambique may soon achieve self-sufficiency in the production and domestic availability of chicken and eggs as a result of the intensification of productivity and the cultivation of corn and soybeans.

From the 4500 tons that it produced two decades ago, the country placed in the national market, in 2021, about 135.7 thousand tons of broiler chicken and 24.7 million dozen eggs. The national director for Livestock Development, Américo da Conceição, said that the achievement of these figures results from the strengthening of inspection and control of smuggling and integration of small and medium breeders in the poultry chain.

According to Jornal Notícias, Conceição was speaking, a few days ago, at the 1st Regional Conference of poultry and eggs center, which took place, in the city of Chimoio, under the theme "National Poultry Production Dynamizer, Economy, Nutrition and Employment".

The event brought together economic agents, public and private research and education institutions in the livestock subsector, private entities involved in the chicken chain, financiers and operators in the poultry industry. Conceição said that poultry farming is one of the livestock segments that contributes the most to covering the animal protein deficit, guaranteeing food and nutritional security and generating income and employment in the country.

He assured that the country offers conditions to become self-sustainable when it comes to chicken meat and eggs, and the activity must be enhanced in order to generate revenue and guarantee the product in the national and international market.

The national director challenged the producers of the central region to increase production to fill the deficit of chicken meat in the domestic market, stressing that the agricultural sector has been registering remarkable growth thanks to the joint work between the government, partners and producers.

He highlighted as the country's challenges for the near future the increase in production levels to supply the domestic market and for export, technological innovation in the poultry chain (automated poultry houses), increase in the capacity to produce fertile eggs, feed, and chicken slaughter, processing, and preservation units.

It is also intended to improve the quality of domestic products in order to reduce the preference for imports, the fight against smuggling, increase the levels of production and domestic availability of raw materials for the manufacture of feed.