New farming equipment factory.

A new factory for producing farming equipment has been built in Beluluane in Maputo province as part of efforts to boost agricultural development in the country. The South African-owned plant, Bom-Art Industries, will initially provide jobs for about 40 mostly Mozambican workers and is due to begin production in mid-July. Speaking to the newspaper Noticias, production engineer Charles Pycke said the factory would turn out a variety of equipment, including hoes, ploughs and threshing machines, for the local market in particular. Raw materials will come from Mozambique and other countries in the region. A production assessment after three years will determine whether to expand the factory or build new plants in other parts of the country. Bom-Art already operates similar factories in Botswana and South Africa. The majority of Mozambicans work in subsistence farming while agriculture accounts for only around 24 per cent of gross domestic product.