African Development Bank support for agro-industrial processing

London, 11 Jan (AIM) – The African Development Bank (ADB) has approved a grant of US$47 million for Mozambique's Pemba-Lichinga Integrated Development Corridor.

The development corridor, running across northern Mozambique, is a Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone intended to stimulate agricultural production and help small scale farmers to move out of subsistence farming through providing infrastructure, marketing, and training.

According to a statement from the Bank, the grant will support the first phase of the project which will help improve agricultural productivity and agribusiness development in the northern province of Niassa and will focus on institutional capacity, skills, and entrepreneurship to spur growth in the agricultural value chain.

The project will also pilot improved policy and development coordination between the authorities in Niassa province and national departments, especially with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Commenting on the approval of the grant by the Bank’s board of directors, Mozambique's Minister of Industry and Trade, Carlos Mesquita, described the project as a "game-changer" that would transform the economy, promote social inclusion, and foster peace by tackling important factors such as development infrastructure.

The Bank’s Country Manager for Mozambique, Cesar Augusto Mba Abogo, highlighted the importance of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones as a shared facility to enable agricultural producers, processors, aggregators, and distributors to operate in the same neighbourhood to reduce transaction costs, share business development services and increase productivity and competitiveness.

The African Development Bank financed its first project in Mozambique in 1977 and since then has focussed on supporting projects covering agriculture, transport, water and sanitation, energy, communications, mining, and finance.
(AIM)