Maputo, July 31, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Young Farmers' Association (AJAP) intends to roll out an agricultural incubation model in Mozambique to train young entrepreneurs, boost production and reduce dependence on food imports, the organisation's director-general told Lusa.
«Young people do not necessarily need to have a great deal of experience; they need to have some training and, above all, a willingness to learn,» Firmino Cordeiro said on Friday in an interview with Lusa.
He explained that the initiative stems from a partnership with the company HUB and Mozambican developers, building on an initial incubator called Inagro (Agricultural Innovation), which is already operational in the town of Nhamatanda, in Sofala province, in the centre of the country.
For Cordeiro, the experience gained by the association through training programmes carried out over several years in Mozambique has highlighted a significant gap between theoretical training and young people's ability to apply that knowledge in the field.
«The trainees who come to us – farmers and others, as well as students from agricultural colleges – have very limited practical experience,» he said, explaining the decision to focus on agricultural incubators with longer-term training programmes.
The Nhamatanda incubator follows a training and incubation programme lasting approximately one year, during which participants have access to their own agricultural plots and direct contact with different production sectors, including horticulture, fruit growing, poultry farming, egg production, fish farming and agroforestry systems.
Cordeiro argued that agriculture should be viewed as a modern and profitable activity, supported by technology. The strategy also involves promoting sustainable agricultural practices, prioritising soil conservation, the use of organic matter, composting and the integration of agriculture, livestock farming and forestry.
«We want to produce more, but to do so sustainably, preserving natural resources and increasing farmers' profitability,» he said.
He revealed that the partnership's ambition is to set up, in the initial phase, at least one incubator in each province – focusing on the areas of agriculture, livestock and forestry – although he acknowledged that the process will be gradual and will depend on the availability of suitable sites, infrastructure and funding.
«It is a long-term project. It is not simply a matter of fencing off a piece of land. We need to create a whole productive and educational structure that enables young people to learn by doing,» he explained.
Cordeiro acknowledged the aim of training up to around 500 participants annually as the project grows, with participants being selected through a recruitment process involving agricultural and educational institutions, followed by a screening of candidates with the greatest aptitude for entrepreneurship.
«Our main objective is not just to train people. It is to ensure that young people are able to set themselves up, start businesses, find employment and receive support after completing their training,» he said.
The project was presented during the «Go to Market Mozambique» seminar, organised by AJAP in Maputo on Thursday, an initiative that brought together representatives from the governments of Portugal and Mozambique, businesspeople and experts from both countries.
According to Cordeiro, the incubator model has been well received by the Mozambican authorities and could help to boost domestic production, create jobs for young people and strengthen the country's agri-food exports.
AJAP is a non-profit organisation which, for over two decades, has been consistently working to support the internationalisation of the Portuguese agri-food sector and to strengthen cooperation between Portugal and Mozambique.
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