Oranges, tangerines and lemons are some of the citrus fruits that end up rotting because it is not possible to sell their produce to large shopping centres.
This is a worrying scenario for producers, who are talking about losses. This is the case of farmer Pedro Tomás, from the Tussamba cooperative, who believes that the losses are large and frequent, and has therefore asked the competent authorities to reverse this situation, which has been discouraging large-scale citrus production in the municipality.
In statements to Angop, the farmer also considered that Lufico has potential in terms of agricultural products, especially citrus fruits and bananas.
According to farmer Marta Ndembi, many farmers in the region are abandoning citrus production due to the lack of a market, and are now focusing on growing cereals and vegetables on a smaller scale.
The farmer also said that "considerable quantities" of fruits such as oranges and tangerines are lost every year: "We lose considerable quantities of oranges and tangerines every year. Little by little we are abandoning this crop and producing more cereals and vegetables".
Meanwhile, farmer António Maria, who has been in the sector for over two decades, proposed the installation of a juice factory in Lufico, aiming to eliminate losses related to citrus production in the region.
He said he believes that with a factory in the municipality, local production will be absorbed locally, putting a stop to the "deterioration of considerable quantities of citrus fruits".
"I believe that with a factory here in Lufico, our production will be absorbed locally and there will no longer be deterioration of considerable quantities of citrus fruits", he considered, quoted by Angop.
It should be noted that Maria Wazika, the new and first administrator of the municipality of Lufico, recently established as a priority of her mandate the requalification of regional roads with a view to contributing to the facilitation of the flow of agricultural products to the city, writes Angop.
