BANCO MUNDIAL APOIA RELANÇAMENTO DA AGRICULTURA EM ANGOLA

 The World Bank has in its portfolio an investment of US $ 25 million to contribute to the relaunch of agriculture in Angola, with the implementation of the Agricultural Productive Program for Southern Africa (APPSA).

This is the second phase of a program, launching on Wednesday in the central plateau, which aims to generate different technologies, modernize the Angolan agrarian sector and move forward with new areas of research, for the constitution of sustainable agriculture.

In this regard, the project coordinator, Joaquim César, said that the intention is to install, in the province of Malange, a regional leadership center to boost the production of cassava on a large scale, as well as corn, rice, legumes and vegetables.

He said that APPSA includes the components of technology generation and dissemination, institutional strengthening, emergency contingency and monitoring, as well as project facilitation and coordination.

It will also involve researchers, with the aim of benefiting farmers in Angola and Lesotho, where a horticultural leadership center should be installed in the Mazerú region.

Joaquim César said that the issue of drought will deserve greater attention from researchers, as it is one of the challenges of today, due to climate change.

The Secretary of State for Agriculture and Livestock, João Manuel Bartolomeu da Cunha, at the end of the event, highlighted the importance of the program in realizing the challenges of the Angolan Government in relaunching the agricultural sector in the country, as it presents itself as a solution for the revitalization agronomic research.

The official pointed out external events, with emphasis on climate change, associated with the low level of technological knowledge of producers, as being the main factors that limit the involvement of agriculture in Angola.

The Secretary of State reiterated that agriculture is the decisive factor for the diversification of the national economy, the fight against poverty, the guarantee of food / nutrition security and the reduction of unemployment.

During the first phase of APPSA, developed between 2013 and 2018, with an investment by the World Bank in the order of US $ 140 million, Mozambique was contemplated, which dedicated itself to the cultivation of rice, Malawi (corn) and Zambia, in legumes.