Mozambique has a high agricultural potential, which stands out for its contribution to the economy, with a share of around ¼ of the total Gross Domestic Product, and with more than 80% of the labor force
in this sector.
Speaking to Profile, Hélder Cossa, Finance Director of Bindzu Agrobusiness, talks about his experiences and expectations for agribusiness in Mozambique.
Profile Mozambique: How would you describe Bindzu Agrobusiness?
Hélder Cossa: Bindzu Agrobusiness & Consultoria is a Mozambican company created in 2010, which is in the agribusiness business at different stages of the value chain. We started with vegetable production to supply national supermarkets.
After a while, we saw an excellent opportunity to open an agricultural inputs store, because at the time, when we delivered the products, the customers in the supermarkets thought they were South African products. The farmers in the field also admired our production. They’d ask, “How do you do it? And we realized that there were a number of inputs that, in fact, were not available on our market.
It’s important to note that, at the time, we were importing seeds, fertilizers and other inputs in order to have the quality we had to supply supermarkets.
We then expanded into agricultural consultancy in terms of drawing up business plans and monitoring production. We also added the area of market agency, which consists of placing the agricultural products of farmeiros, especially commercial farmeiros, on the market.
And recently we’ve taken part in tenders through installation. We have irrigation systems, production greenhouses and seedling greenhouses.
In terms of supply, we are currently supplying inputs of different kinds, such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, both to the government and to NGOs.
PM: How can trade in agricultural products/commodities stimulate greater broad-based economic dynamics in the region and the country?
HC: If you think about it in an empirical way, that practically every day we pay to buy products, to eat, it means that we are talking about an activity with great economic projection.
And it’s done in Mozambique. It is estimated that around 70% of the population lives off agriculture. So the activity has this impact, in fact, of reaching a large part of the population in rural areas. But, obviously, it has to start having some sustainability for these people who, in fact, deal directly with the production side.
Although, in my personal opinion, what has to happen is that people have to review their investment policies, not thinking as we do, in the sense that we have to invest in a new way.
We don’t have to invest in the 4 million small producers, the small family units. And, in fact, this has been, in my opinion, the great mistake of the major investments in agriculture in Mozambique.
What is proposed is that we reconstitute our way of investing, and really invest in a few agricultural production centers, but with large-scale investments, because we are no longer alone in the world, we are in a globalized market.
We have to make our production competitive with South Africa, China, etc.
PM: What do you think of the potential for domestic marketing and export of local production and its contribution to import substitution, increased exports and the consequent positive impact on the trade balance, as well as promoting employment and alternative forms of income for many families?
HC: In terms of exports, we really do have a lot of scope in the country, especially in terms of agricultural production, given the potential we have, the soil and climate conditions, the geolocation in terms of ports and contact with the countries of the Interland.
But what happens is that we have a number of crops that, despite having this potential, we haven’t even managed to meet our domestic needs.
I’m talking about crops such as corn, even beans, vegetables, fruit trees, although recently some private initiatives have started to appear and give a boost to local economic activity. However, the country has already been exporting fruit trees such as bananas to South Africa and even experimenting with other markets such as the United States, America or Europe.
Another indicator of performance in foreign trade is the export of macadamia nuts to Asia and, more recently, pigeon peas.
MP: How can we maximize the region’s production and marketing potential, with a view to improving the competitiveness and sustainability of the main agricultural product/commodity value chains?
HC: We urgently need to turn our attention to the centers of production units in different combinations, whether private or public-private partnerships, but production units on a commercial scale.
Because if you look at the products that have been exported at the moment, I can give you the example of sugar cane, bananas, macadamia, and a few others, they are made in large commercial units, mainly by private individuals.
This allows them to have the scale that at the end of the day they compete with other countries on a global level. So, in order to maximize this, we have to restructure the way we invest in agriculture and opt for more concentrated production units, more concentrated investments, more robust, sufficient, so that these units are sustainable.
Because what we see in our context is that there are some investments, but they are diluted among many people and at the end of the day that producer can’t scale up.
This leads to the beneficiary of the investment not being able to register notable growth in terms of capital at the speed the country needs and without the capacity to compete in the market.
PM: What are the main export markets and what incentives are available to attract investment to the agricultural sector and to promote exports of agricultural products/commodities from Mozambique?
HC: At the moment, I think that one of the initiatives that stands out in terms of encouraging exports, which is one of the vehicles for strengthening and increasing Mozambique’s exports, is centered on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), an American trade law that provides for tariff-free and quota-free access to the North American market for a large part of goods produced in qualified sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and we also have the special regime that allows cooperation between SADC countries, which has given us some privileges.
In terms of markets, Mozambique’s main export destinations are South Africa, India, the Netherlands and China.
PM: What is Bindzu’s impact on the national market and what challenges does it face in developing Mozambique?
HC: Bindzu is a medium-sized company that operates with a greater focus on market agency.
In terms of impact, I would say that we have product placement on a scale of more or less 10% of what circulates in terms of products on the wholesale market.
The company has products and services throughout the agricultural value chain. This allows the company to be aware of processes up and down the agricultural value chain, which help to maximize their efficiency and usefulness to the consumer.
The fact that the company works at all stages of the value chain allows it to demonstrate techniques and technology transfer to other farmers in the consultancy, but they are also potential customers for equipment and inputs sold and can buy them after certifying their importance and quality. During all these phases, Bindzu provides the inputs and equipment needed to produce in order to guarantee the sustainability of the producer, knowing that this is a key issue in maintaining the sustainability of the company as well.
