Credit facilities

According to NGO projects - because Niassa is under-developed in terms of infrastructure and industry, any business establishing itself in the province will have very high initial capital outlay. For example, the majority of the province is bush and so a farmer will need to clear his land before he can farm it. The cost of de-bushing is roughly equal to the cost of the land itself. The farmer must also invest in seeds, fertilizers and equipment and it will be at least one season before any of that capital expenditure can be recovered. The situation is exacerbated as we anticipate that a significant number of the farmers who will come to Niassa will be white Zimbabwean farmers who, because of the political situation in Zimbabwe, will be able to bring with them very few capital assets. The banks in Mozambique offer loans at very high interest rates and foreign banks will not be willing to offer loans against investment in another country. We therefore believe that in order to enable people to invest in Niassa, it is necessary to offer credit facilities with realistic interest rates and without the rigid bureaucratic requirements of the banks.