The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs says new techniques of cultivation used successfully in Maputo may help Mozambique achieve food security.

The potato output of the China-Mozambique Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre in Maputo reached 1,760 kg per hectare in the August harvest, 300 kg per hectare more than before, according to a written statement issued by the ministry.

The ministry says the centre will promote the new techniques elsewhere in Mozambique, with a view to meeting demand for staples, increasing harvests and raising the incomes of farmers.

Chinese state-owned Lianfeng Overseas Agricultural Development Co. Ltd of the central Chinese province of Hubei runs the centre, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs statement says.

The purpose of the show farm launched in 2012 is to increase the use of Chinese agricultural know-how, and to make the food supply in Sub-Saharan Africa more secure.