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Mozambique agriculture is an integral part of the country’s economy. Agriculture of Mozambique is the bread and butter of more than 80% of the population. With so many lives at stake the Mozambique government always tries to improve the conditions of agricultural practices. But still much of it is still carried on in primitive ways. Almost all the labor involved comes from the households. In Mozambique, all members of the family contribute towards farming. Organized farming is nearly absent and all the work is carried out by individual farmers. In fact modern agricultural tools such as tractors, electrical ploughs, good quality fertilizers and pesticides are hardly ever used in Mozambique.
Agriculture in Mozambique faced a lot of setbacks in the 1980s and 1990s due to many factors. One major deterrent was the severe drought that affected Mozambique in the early 1980s. Mozambique does not enjoy the availability of developed artificial irrigation channels and network. Agriculture in Mozambique is almost wholly dependant on rainfall for getting water for irrigation. As a result when rains failed so did agricultural production. Drought was followed by floods and locust attacks that further affected the production of crops. To top it all, the Civil Wars were the ultimate destructors of agriculture in Mozambique.
However, despite all these mishaps, Mozambique agriculture is again reviving. The climate and soil of Mozambique are ideal for the growth of a number of crops. The major cash crops grown here are sugarcane, copra, sesame seeds, sugar beans, sunflower, rice, millet and maize. Besides these, the vegetables grown are potato, cucumber, sweet potato, pumpkin, cabbage and tomatoes.
The contribution of agriculture to the economy of Mozambique is 24.2% of GDP (according to 2005 report). With so much at stake, banks and financial institutions are always there to help overcome funds shortage faced by the agricultural sector in Mozambique.
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