73 applications were evaluated in the contest

The Ministry of Science and Technology, Technical and Professional Education, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, awarded prizes to the winners of the National Contest of Innovation for Community Development, an initiative supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

For the present edition, the area chosen was agriculture, with the focus on horticulture, where 73 applications were evaluated in the components of production, processing and conservation of horticulture.

For the 1st place, the Agrarian Institute of Balama was awarded the prize, which developed a hand-held vegetable seeder made of recycled material, which is a low-cost technical solution that is easily adapted to the conditions of the communities.

Vergina Simango, winner of the 2nd place in the contest, developed a combination of 14 components, among them 11 native plants, which serves as an alternative method to combat pests and diseases in vegetables.

Finally, was awarded an innovation produced from the extraction of pyroligneous acid that serves for the control of pests and fertilization, developed by the Extensionist of the District Services of Economic Activities of Pebane, Djalmo Mafaite.

FAO Representative Olman Serrano stressed that through this type of coordinated work, Mozambique could meet the challenges of a more productive, sustainable and climate-adapted agriculture sector, and ensured that FAO will continue to collaborate with similar initiatives that bring more and more innovative solutions for the development of the national agrarian sector.

During the awards ceremony, the Minister of Science and Technology Higher Education and Technical Technician, Jorge Olívio Penicela Nhambiu, pointed out that "local knowledge, when transformed into scientific knowledge, can contribute to the development of communities and the country, and he also challenged the private sector and higher education institutions to improve these and other innovations for community development.

This initiative directly contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Objectives 2 and 13, namely: Ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition, promoting sustainable agriculture and taking urgent measures to combat the effects of climate change and its impacts.