Mozambique's cotton output likely to grow this year
02 Apr '12
1 min read
According to Mozambique Cotton Institute (IAM), the country's raw cotton production is likely to increase by around 20 percent from last year's 71,000 tons to 85,000 tons this year.
Various factors like availability of better seeds and enhanced technical support from the concessionary firms procuring cotton as well as from IAM are behind this anticipated rise in production, the institute stated.
The institute has positioned its technical staff in all the 20 districts that give priority to cotton production. The IAM employees not only provide seeds, but also acquaint the farmers with use of fertilizers and herbicides to control weeds that they have never used before.
Further, in order to increase production, the institute is also focusing on "advanced producers". While majority of the cultivators undertake cultivation on an area of around 0.6 to 0.7 hectares, these advanced producers undertake cotton cultivation on over 10 hectares of area.
During last year, the institute identified around 100 such advanced producers, who this year would reap their first crop since they started receiving the institute's help.
The institute aims at steadily increasing raw cotton yields so as to enable Mozambique to reach production levels of 200,000 tons per annum over the next 10 years.