Beira, Mozambique, June 24, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozambique’s Minister of Agriculture said on Wednesday that the country will criminalise the sale of counterfeit seeds during the 2027 agricultural season, under a new law providing for mandatory tracking via a quick response (QR) code.
“Selling counterfeit seeds will become a criminal offence. From next year, during the next [agricultural] season, seed packets will be sealed and will feature a QR code,” said Roberto Albino, minister of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries, during a meeting with business leaders in the city of Beira, the provincial capital of Sofala, in central Mozambique.
At the meeting, the minister noted that the tracking system will make it possible to identify who produced, certified and processed the seeds, as well as the relevant technical data.
The new law, which the government intends to submit to parliament next year, will treat seed counterfeiting as a fraud offence, with prison sentences for offenders.
“Selling counterfeit seed is a crime punishable by imprisonment,” emphasised Roberto Albino.
At the same meeting, the Minister of Agriculture announced the launch, within the next two weeks, of a campaign to reclaim fallow land, calling on holders of land use and exploitation deeds who are not farming the allocated areas to voluntarily return the land to the State.
“We are asking you, business leaders, who hold deeds to land that you are not using, to return the land to the State voluntarily because, once the new land law is passed, there will be no room for negotiation; the decision will be automatic,” he warned, adding that the priority will be to reclaim land along rivers to make it available to young people, including agronomy graduates, who do not yet have access to land.
The meeting in Beira brought together members of the government and business leaders from central Mozambique to discuss opportunities in agribusiness, at a time when the government is seeking to strengthen quality control over agricultural inputs and reclaim unproductive land.
EYMZ/AYLS // AYLS
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