Contributing to products' access to the technical information and agricultural technologies necessary to increase their resilience to climate change is one of the perspectives of the Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IIAM).
The country has been suffering, in recent years, from the severe impacts caused by this phenomenon, which is why IIAM wants to accelerate the process of generating and disseminating technologies to keep up with the dynamics of climate change, socio-economic changes and the interests of industry and consumers.
According to Olga Fafetine, general director of IIAM, who was speaking at the Scientific Days at Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), the institution will channel all investment efforts towards the generation of technologies in order to respond to the challenges posed by climate change, the emergence of diseases and pests, changes in market and industry interest, changes in the economic situation inside and outside the country.
According to Fafetine, the research carried out by the institute covers all basic and income agricultural production chains, in addition to lines of investigation related to animal sciences.
The director added that the generation of agricultural research results requires continuous and long work, which is complemented many years later.
"IIAM participated in joint research projects with its partners from international research centers, national academic institutions, similar institutes in the southern African region, which generated and/or validated new technologies and products ready to be disseminated and used by producers", said.
Olga Fafetine referred that IIAM's mission is to generate knowledge and technological solutions for agribusiness, food and nutritional security.
"In this context, the institution researches all the necessary components to generate technological packages for all potential crops in agroecological zones and for different production systems”, He stated.
According to her, the research carried out by the institution is supported by a series of transversal programs for all cultures, such as, for example, plant protection, integrated pest and disease management, fertilizer production, biotechnology, socioeconomic studies, quality control, soil laboratories, among others.
Fafetine indicated that the basic production chains cover cereals (corn, rice, sorghum and wheat), grain legumes (common beans, nhemba and boer), roots and tubers (cassava and sweet potato) and vegetables (tomato, cabbage, onion and garlic).
In the production chain, income includes soy, sesame, cotton, reindeer potatoes, sunflower, palm oil, fruit trees and forests.
