The Institute of Agricultural Research of Mozambique (IIAM, by its Portuguese acronym) made sure that participants at AGM08 got out of the capital city of Maputo and into the field to learn first hand what is happening in Mozambique’s agricultural research.

AGM08 participants visit fields at the Umbeluzi Research Station.

IIAM organized two field trips to their research facilities and livestock farms. One field trip took participants to IIAM headquarters, where they visited the plant tissue culture and soil labs, a genebank, herbarium and green houses. Subsequently, they visited the Umbeluzi Agricultural Research Station, where they saw and learned about research under way on rice, maize, sorghum, grain legumes, tubers and horticultural crops. Various CGIAR Centers – among them, the Africa Rice Center (WARDA), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Potato Center (CIP), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are collaborating with IIAM and other partners in several projects. Crop research at IIAM is focused on developing more resilient crop varieties with better drought tolerance, breeding for higher yields and nutritional content, and improving pest and disease management.

AGM08 participants visit fields at Umbeluzi Research Station.

Field trip participants use the cassava grater at Umbeluzi

Maria Andrade, a sweetpotato specialist from CIP and based in Maputo, Mozambique addresses field trip participants.

The other field trip focused on livestock development and took participants to animal science research facilities, where they learned about IIAM’s work related to vaccine and egg production, breeding and disease control. The group also visited breeding and dairy farms, where they saw a diverse range of cattle breeds and learned more about fodder crops and animal nutrition.