IOFS and IsDB Discuss with Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture Improvement of Cassava Program in the Country

On 29 August 2023, on the sidelines of Advanced Training on “Agronomic Methods on Cassava in Mozambique”, a tripartite meeting was held between the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development of the Republic of Mozambique (represented also by Agrarian Research Institute of Mozambique – IIAM) , the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to exchange views on how the local government would be supported to achieve sustainable food security through cassava value chain.
 
Mr. Momodou Ceesay, the global lead expert on rural development at the IsDB, familiarized the hosts with Food Security Response Program (FSRP) and its role to address the global food security crisis within the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He further reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment in that context is founded recently approved USD 10.5 billion, which is intended to support Member States’ immediate needs to solve food insecurity.
 
In this regard, the global lead expert encouraged the government of Mozambique to design a project on the main priority area within the cassava value chain for consideration by IsDB relevant decision-making mechanism towards potential funding for its implementation. Interestingly, Mozambique is among the seven countries that are eligible to be beneficiaries of IsDB’s Regional Cassava Value Chain in Africa.
 
On the part of IOFS, Mr. Abdula Manafi, Advisor at Cooperation & Coordination Department, welcomed the significance of close collaboration and working together with IsDB, and stated that the consultations with the Ministry of Agriculture was of paramount importance to materialize all necessary needs and priorities for a better development of cassava program in Mozambique.
 
As way forward, the IIAM would assist the Ministry of Agriculture towards designing the proposed project with the understanding that the relevant Ministry would be finalizing the same for official submission to IsDB’s consideration before the end of 2023 to allow Mozambique to be considered for Phase II of the Bank’s Program on the Cassava Value Chain, which has the IOFS as its implementing partner.