Feed the Future Mozambique Agricultural Innovations Activity (FTF Inova) Groundnut Strategy Summary

The crop is a staple in Mozambique, but its quality is poor, and yields are among the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa, at 20% of potential. The prevailing perception is that there is little willingness within the local market to pay for aflatoxin-safe groundnut, resulting in a near-total lack of investment in production and post-harvest handling. The market for groundnut is largely domestic, with minimal amounts being exported to countries such as Indonesia and South Africa. High aflatoxin levels make export virtually impossible, with only 10,000 metric tons being exported in 2016. The groundnut market is dominated by women, who play a significant role in production, farm-level processing, and trading. However, the quality of groundnut is poor, and the yields are low due to a lack of investment in production and post-harvest handling. FTF Inova aims to identify and support the demand for aflatoxin-safe groundnut, both domestically and internationally. The initiative will work with key market players, including producers and traders, to meet this demand. By the end of the interventions, FTF Inova expects to see at least one key market player sourcing groundnut from smallholder farmers. The initiative will also focus on upgrading the quality of groundnut to meet domestic and international standards. The short-term intervention will involve testing the hypothesis that the international and domestic markets present sufficient demand for investing in upgrading quality. This will be achieved through a demand assessment, which will be carried out in partnership with key actors in the sector, including producers and traders. Assuming the hypothesis holds, FTF Inova will work to support producers and traders to deliver trusted groundnut to these segments. This may involve providing technical assistance, supporting the development of internationally certified aflatoxin testing capacity, and investigating areas of collaboration with the Aflatoxin Working Group in Nampula. By the end of the first year, FTF Inova expects the perception of demand for higher quality, aflatoxin-safe groundnut among market actors to be increased. The initiative also anticipates having piloted innovations with at least two actors in the value chain aimed at improving the quality of groundnut.