Agriculture remains a foundational pillar of Mozambique’s economy, supporting rural livelihoods and employing the majority of the population. The sector is dominated by smallholder farming, with production centered on staple crops such as maize, cassava, rice, sorghum, and beans, alongside cash crops including cashew nuts, cotton, tobacco, sugar, tea, and horticultural products. Mozambique benefits from abundant arable land, diverse agro-ecological zones, and extensive river systems, providing strong underlying potential for agricultural development. Despite these advantages, agricultural production remains largely rain-fed and low-input, with limited mechanization, weak irrigation coverage, and underdeveloped storage and processing capacity constraining productivity and value addition.
Economic Contribution
Agriculture contributes approximately 24-26% of GDP and employs over 65% of the labor force, making it the backbone of the economy and a central driver of food security and poverty reduction. Agricultural commodities account for an estimated 20-25% of total exports, led by cashew nuts, sugar, tobacco, cotton, and horticultural products. The sector supports extensive upstream and downstream linkages, including input supply, transport, processing, and export logistics, while sustaining rural incomes in areas with limited alternative employment opportunities and remaining highly exposed to climate variability, floods, and droughts.
Outlook
The medium-term outlook for Mozambique’s agricultural sector is positive, supported by policy prioritization, rising regional food demand, and growing private-sector participation in commercial farming and agro-processing. National strategies emphasize irrigation expansion, climate-smart agriculture, and value-chain development. Agricultural GDP growth is projected at 4-6% annually, driven by expansion in cereals, horticulture, sugar, oilseeds, livestock, and export-oriented agribusiness, while investments in irrigation, rural infrastructure, storage, processing facilities, and digital agricultural services are expected to enhance resilience and position agriculture as a long-term driver of inclusive growth and economic diversification.
