Mozambique’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, José Pacheco, says grain output for the 2015-2016 harvest is likely to be down 5 percent judged year-on-year.

The latest estimate is for a total harvest of 2.39 million tonnes, Mozambique’s news agency AIM reported.

Mr Pacheco said this year’s harvest had been atypical and had been negatively affected by extreme weather patterns. They included a drought that affected much of the country’s southern and central regions, and storms and flooding that hit parts of the north.

Mr Pacheco stated that the main challenge now was to improve irrigation infrastructure and to regulate – for agricultural purposes – river flows.

The minister additionally said the government would continue to invest in reviving the country’s cotton production sector, which provides income for around 200,000 households, AIM reported.