Mozambique is moving quickly to achieve self-sufficiency in chicken production, thanks to new investments that are being made in the sector.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MASA), point out that as a result of the injection of financial resources from investors there has also been an increase in the productivity levels of hatching eggs and chicks, in a context in which the government has cut import quotas for chicken.

Yesterday, in the district of Namaacha, Maputo province, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MASA), Celso Correia, inaugurated a broiler production center, in the town of Mafavuka, an investment of about 640 million meticais from the company Higest.

The infrastructure includes the implantation of ten more pavilions in the next few years, each one with capacity to house 56 thousand chicks per cycle, which will allow an annual production of six thousand tons of chicken in the 12 pavilions as a whole.

Implanted on a 79-hectare site, the project will create 50 direct jobs, and the beneficiaries will be mostly from or residents of the town of Mafavuca.

In the occasion, Minister Celso Correia said that the inauguration of the enterprise occurs in a moment that also marks the register of the growth of the poultry production volume in 16,5% during the first semester when compared to the same period in the previous year.

According to him, assuming production history, chicken production is expected to register growth above 20% during this year.

"We will have a great year in chicken production that should represent stability of market supply, particularly in the upcoming holiday season," he said.

For his part, the representative of the company Higest, Mario Couto, said that the investment of about 640 million meticais was financed in its entirety by the national commercial bank.

The manager also stated that "the investment shows, once again, the company's commitment and trust in the Mozambican market, employing five thousand people at this moment".