"The agricultural, energy and mineral potential of the Zambezi Basin, creates opportunities for sustainable development not only in Mozambique, but in the entire Southern African region," declared Morgado, addressing business leaders in a conference on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The conference aimed at presenting the NEPAD initiative and all its priority areas to the local business community, as well as possible ways of involving the business community in the proposed areas.

With an area of about 1.32 million sq km, the Zambezi Basin is the most shared in Southern Africa covering the territory of eight different countries - Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The population of the river basin is estimated at 38.4 million.

The Mozambican side of the Zambezi Basin, covers an area of 225,000 sq km including the following administrative areas:

• the whole Tete province;
• the districts of Morrumbala, Mopeia, Chinde, Milange, Mocuba, Maganja da Costa, Nicoadala, Inhassunge and Quelimane in the Zambezia province;
• the districts of Gorongosa, Maringue, Chemba, Caia, Marromeu, Cheringoma and Muanza in the Sofala province; and
• a small part of the Manica province, consisting of the districts of Barue, Tambara, Guro and Macossa.

The total population of the Zambezi Basin in Mozambique is around 3.75 million inhabitants (about 1/5 of the country's population).

Studies made in the late 1950s indicate that the Mozambican side of the Zambezi Basin has over 5.5 million hectares of arable land (about 50 per cent of total arable land of the country), of which some 2.5 million hectares have potential for intensive farming.

The wide diversity of soil types and the diverse climatic conditions in the basin makes it suitable for a large variety of crops including food crops (maize, rice, beans, potatoes), fruit trees, tea, cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, oilseeds, and coconut palm.

Most of the agriculture practices in the basin are rain-fed. However, the total potential of irrigated areas is estimated at 1.5 million hectares (around 45 percent of the total irrigation potential in the country).

Mozambique has been spearheading the process to promote the NEPAD initiative and all its projects and programmes at national and regional level.

The Mozambican Minister of Industry and Trade told the business leaders that "NEPAD is an African initiative, done by Africans for Africans".

"We must have a common understanding on the NEPAD strategies. This is the only way for an effective African integration," he said.

NEPAD was adopted by the last summit of leaders of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Zambia in 2001 and launched at the first summit of the African Union in South Africa in 2001.

The programme is directed by an implementation Committee of Heads of States chaired by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, supported by a Steering Committee and Secretariat, which have been charged with developing and guiding the implementation of a strategic plan to ensure domestic support in African countries and facilitate public-private sector partnership and international commitment.

According to its founding document, the objective of NEPAD is "to consolidate democracy and sound economic management on the continent. Through the programme, Africa's leaders are making a commitment to the African people and the world to work together in rebuilding the continent.

"It is a pledge to promote peace and stability, democracy, sound economic management and people-centred development, and to hold each other accountable in terms of the agreements outlined in the programme."