FAO Representative in Mozambique participates in book on family farming in the country
"Family Farming Sector and Development in Mozambique" is the title of the book launched on Thursday (27/08), in Maputo, by the Director of the Rural Observatory (OMR) and book coordinator, João Mosca. It is a compilation of the interventions made by the speakers at the conference on "Family Farming and Development in Mozambique", held in December 2014 in the Mozambican capital.
Before the launch of the book, the participants attended a discussion on "Dynamics of the rural – urban relationship: the case of Maputo city". João Feijó, research coordinator at OMR, was the guest speaker for this session and the research assistant at OMR, Máriam Abbas, moderated the discussion. Mosca then presented the book, describing the context of its elaboration as the beginning of a new legislative period where the first signs indicate an increased openness and the possibility of dialogue between civil society and the power centres. The phase Mozambique is going through can be called a "fever of natural resources", in which economic and legislative policies and measures, discourse, expectations, as well as political agreements and governmental and entrepreneurial contracts are concentrated, all taking place in the context of the recently commemorated International Year of Family Farming (2014). "This book contributes to the dialogue on the importance of agriculture in general and the family sector, in particular", Mosca noted.
For the Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Mozambique, and author of the book's first chapter, Castro Camarada, this book "represents a significant addition to the information around a theme that is of central importance to the development of Mozambique".
As well as Camarada, the Representative of FAO in Portugal and for CPLP, Hélder Muteia, was present at the event, along with the other authors of the book chapters and interested actors involved in the agrarian sector. The launch was organized by OMR and the National Farmers' Union (UNAC), and took place at A Politécnica University.