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Report launch: Agricultural development in Mozambique 2002-2020
On Friday, 21 February 2025, the Inclusive growth in Mozambique (IGM) programme will launch a report titled ‘Agricultural development in Mozambique 2002-2020: trends, challenges and opportunities’. The event will take place at 9:30-12:15 in Maputo, Mozambique.
The launch event is structured around a presentation of the main chapters of the report and a Q&A session, followed by a panel discussion on the recent tendencies of the agriculture sector in Mozambique and of the importance of data for policymaking.
The report will be presented by Prof. Finn Tarp, University of Copenhagen (UCPH-DERG), Sam Jones, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Márcia Chelengo, National Directorate of Economic Policies and Development (DNPED) of the Ministry of Planning and Development (MPD) and Sofiare Jamú, Research Assistant under the IGM programme.
Please note that the in-person event is by invitation letter only. The online event is open to everyone, click here to register.
The event will be conducted in Portuguese with simultaneous interpretation Portuguese–English–Portuguese will be available.
PROGRAMME
| Time | Description |
| 09:30-10:00 | Registration and coffee/tea |
| Event Opening | |
| 10:00-10:20 | Welcome and opening remarks Representative of the IGM Programme Partners His Excellency Roberto Mito Albino, Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Fisheries (MAAP) His Excellency Salim Valá, Minister of Planning and Development (MPD) |
| Presentation of the report | |
| 10:20-11:00 | Presentation of the report Prof. Finn Tarp, University of Copenhagen (UCPH-DERG) Márcia Chelengo, National Directorate of Economic Policies and Development (DNPED), MPD Sam Jones, UNU-WIDER Sofiare Jamú, IGM Programme |
| 11:00-11:30 | Q&A session |
| Discussion Panel | |
| 11:30-12:10 | Discussion Representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries (MAAP) Representative of the Ministry of Ecoomy (ME) Representative of the agriculture sector associations Representative of the private sector Representative of the civil society |
| Closing of the event | |
| 12:10-12:15 | Closing of the event |
| 12:15-13:30 | Lunch |
About the study
The report analyzes the trends, challenges, and opportunities in agricultural development in Mozambique, focusing on the performance of smallholder farmers over the past two decades. While it draws on various data sources and information, one of the key highlights of the report is the presentation of newly harmonized microdata, derived from 11 agricultural surveys conducted by MADER between 2002 and 2020.
This new dataset provides, for the first time, a coherent and detailed view of smallholder farmers, their living and working conditions, as well as production performance since the beginning of the century. The data includes not only the most recent series from MADER’s agricultural surveys (Inquérito Agrícola Integrado – IAI) but also older microdata from the Trabalho de Inquérito Agrícola (TIA). In total, it covers surveys conducted in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020.
The analysis of the profile of smallholder farmers, presented in Chapter 7, is a key highlight. It reveals a trend of decreasing cultivated land, particularly in the South, and only modest progress in increasing productivity per hectare. Additionally, the use of modern technologies and the commercialization rate have not grown significantly over the period analyzed (2002–2020).
The report emphasizes the need to prioritize smallholder farmers in Mozambique’s development policies and strategies. Without disregarding the role of large-scale producers, who have significant potential to drive agribusiness and generate multiplier effects in local development, smallholder farmers remain essential to the country’s agricultural sector and to the well-being of a rapidly growing population.