Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Luanda (Agenzia Fides) - Angola wants to increase cereals production between the 2009-2013 period, in about 4 million hectares of land, to produce over 15 million tons. This was its Foreign Affairs Minister, João Miranda, announced in Rome at the FAO Conference, held June 3-5.
Minister Miranda said that between 2009 and 2013, roots and small tuber production will increase 11% and vegetables will rise 40% per year.
The high Angolan government official said that since the achievement of peace in 2002, agricultural production has been increasing significantly, due to the government's measures, including those facilitating the resettlement of displaced people and their integration in agricultural projects.
“Investments have been growing in the sectors of agriculture, fishing and food industry, as well as economic and legislative reforms, aiming at macroeconomics stability,” he said.
The most recent phase of development, he explained, has included the restoration and rehabilitation of infrastructures, such as bridges, roads, railways, as well as the irrigation systems on both a large and small scale.
In this same area, are the government’s programs for the improvement of people's living standards in communities, through the extension of services in the sectors of health, education, drinking water, electricity supply and sanitation.
Commenting on bio-fuels, the Angolan Minister said that “we need to designate clear strategies that seek to safeguard the fundamental principles of not competing in the production of food for mankind.” With this proposal, the head of the Angolan delegation affirmed that his government could designate 500.000 hectares of land out of the country's 35 million hectares for food production.
According to the Angolan Foreign Affairs Minister, the rise in food prices in recent months should be an opportunity, mainly for developing countries that have a great agricultural potential, to improve their investments in the agricultural sector.
Angola finally came out of a civil war that had lasted from 1975-2002 and that destroyed a large portion of the country’s infrastructures. Since then, they have begun a reconstruction phase that hopes to revive the economy of a country that is extremely rich in natural resources and minerals. According to data from the International Monetary Fund, in the 2004 the agriculture and fish industry was only 8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Angola, a relatively low value in comparison to the needs and potential of the country. These are many positive reasons to invest in the agriculture industry in Angola: the vastness and variety of a territory that is apt for a cultivation of a wide variety of crops including coffee, cereals, tropical fruits, “European” fruits, olives, cotton, sugar cane, and a wide range of vegetables. The Angolan land is also rich in water resources with its many rivers, some of which flow from the African river basins (of Congo and Zambia). The agricultural tradition of the people and the fact that the farming sector is having to be built from the ground up, are both factors that attract foreign investors (from Israelis to Chinese) to finance the innovative projects. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 6/6/2008)
