Maputo, July 14, 2026 (Lusa) - The Gorongosa region, in central Mozambique, wants to improve coffee and honey production in order to move forward with certification and internationalisation, the local governor announced on Tuesday, calling for funding for the process.
“We are planning to export [the honey], but it needs certification. It involves many certification procedures, and I am confident that the Government and Gorongosa National Park are working towards its certification so that it can enter other markets; and when you export a product, you must have sufficient quantities to offer,” said Pedro Mussengue, in an interview with Lusa.
According to him, the region aims to increase production of Gorongosa coffee, in the central province of Sofala – which is already exported internationally – and to ramp up honey production, which is already consumed throughout the country, to ensure it can be exported.
“Our aim is to export everything produced in Gorongosa. Honey, coffee, bananas. For example, we are already exporting bananas, albeit on a small scale, to Malawi (...) we produce a lot of mapira. Our mapira goes from Gorongosa to Malawi,” he said, adding that significant strides are being made towards bringing the region’s agricultural produce onto international markets.
“Certification involves costs, but, above all, we lack the resources and partners who can provide greater support, because you wouldn’t want to internationalise honey production with only around 500 producers. We need thousands of people producing on a large scale, and that does indeed require significant investment”.
To attract cooperation partners for these projects, the region is planning a major investment conference to showcase its potential, indicating that the focus is on finding opportunities for young people and women to develop their businesses locally.
More than a thousand households are involved in the honey production chain and more than 1,500 in coffee production, according to figures from the region's governor, who aims to increase these numbers in the near future.
The region has a honey-processing plant and a coffee-processing plant, with the governor pointing out that this infrastructure already represents a major achievement for a region that was one of the epicentres of the civil war, and which is now among the leaders in the local processing of produce, moving towards the country’s economic independence.
“We do not beg; we are not the sort to hold out our hands and ask for money. What we are actually asking for is support. For example, we have plans to support just over 100 or 200 families in beekeeping. What do we need for beekeeping? Improved hives, all the necessary equipment for beekeepers, and we’ll get out into the field. The forest is there, the mountains are there, the woodlands are there. We will produce and empower the families”.
In this regard, the region also wishes to showcase its potential for producing bananas, potatoes and avocados – with 80 hectares of land dedicated to the latter – and is therefore inviting agricultural engineers to invest in the region.
According to the authorities, Gorongosa produces around five tonnes of coffee every three months, with the main buyer countries being Portugal, England and the United States, but “Mozambique is the leading consumer”; it also has a factory with the capacity to process 300 kilograms of honey per day.
In the same interview, the official said that so far this year there have been no reports of poaching involving the ‘big five’ in Gorongosa National Park, which is located in the region.
“Personally, I say and maintain that biodiversity conservation must be based on balance. The balance I advocate is that humans are very valuable. Animals are also very important to human life. So, flora, fauna and humankind must all coexist,” said the administrator.
“It is obvious that human-animal conflict exists. But we are seriously committed to dialogue with the communities. We maintain ongoing dialogue with the park itself and have a committee where we discuss issues in the buffer zone, where some problems are always reported,” he added.
According to him, the increase in development projects that help tackle unemployment and hunger is behind the reduction in poaching in the park; he cited fish farming in tanks as one of the initiatives helping communities to support conservation.
Gorongosa National Park is located in Sofala province, in central Mozambique, in the region of the same name, situated on the southern edge of the Great African Rift Valley. It is now home to around 230,000 inhabitants, according to figures provided by the park manager, who also acknowledged an increase in the animal population within the conservation area.
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