With Help from Feed the Future Voucher Program, Business Thriving for Agro-Dealer in Mozambique

Moises Vilanculos is a hard-working farmer in the district of Manica in Mozambique. He and his wife have made their living from farming for two decades.

Realizing that they needed to have access to quality seeds to improve their yields and increase their production, they started an informal business selling small quantities of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and improved seeds to the local market. 

Moises and his family were able to expand their business through assistance from a voucher program under Feed the Future that enables smallholder farmers to obtain agricultural inputs and find new business opportunities. After joining the program in 2009, Moises was trained on business management and effective use of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, ultimately transferring this knowledge to other agro-dealers and farmers in his community.

As farmers’ demand increased for the inputs he was selling, Moises decided to build a small shop to sell seeds. He has since increased both the size of his shop and his customer base—a brand new storage room is about to be finished. Moises also owns a processing machine that enables him to sell his own brand of high-quality seeds (pictured) that are certified by the National Seeds Service.

“What motivated me mostly was the concern to help my community end hunger through providing them with reliable seeds,” Moises says. “As a result, I also became a successful agro-dealer.”