The Ministry of Agriculture reaffirms its commitment to building three agri-food laboratories in the provinces of Zaire, Namibe and Moxico to provide food quality control services.
From 2018 to 2022, Angola spent more than USD 1.5 billion on rice imports, according to data provided by the National Director of Forests, Domingos Veloso.
The official who spoke yesterday at the opening of the VI Economy & Market Magazine Conference on “The goals and challenges of cereal production in Angola”, said that the average annual consumption of rice in Angolan families is around 500 thousand tons and production internal consumption, currently below 30 thousand tons, is still far from meeting the needs.
The official highlighted that a considerable part of the food that reaches Angolans’ tables, especially cereals, continues to be obtained from imports, absorbing huge amounts of foreign exchange that might serve to boost the internal production of these products.
Domingos Veloso said that the answer to the low levels of production of rice and other agricultural products lies in removing the constraints that still exist, as well as strengthening subsectors to guarantee self-sufficiency.
“Angola has the natural conditions for this, as in the past it was one of the largest producers and exporters of agricultural products,” he said.
Domingos Veloso referred that the need to boost domestic cereal production with a focus on rice and wheat flour led the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MINAGRIF) to elect the Agricultural Year 2023/2024 aimed at the Plan to Promote Rice Production and of Wheat, without neglecting attention to other crops.
It should be noted, according to the person responsible, that the Agricultural Year 2022/2023 was characterized by satisfactory production levels and an overall growth of 6.6%, with a total of one billion, 357 thousand and 136 tons being produced, an increase of 5.3%6, in relation to the previous agricultural year, “In the last agricultural season we had an increase of around 241% in wheat production and 158% in rice cultivation, as a result of the engagement of producers and monitoring of the sector”, he said .
Three agri-food laboratories In the rows of roots and tubers, legumes and oilseeds, vegetables and fruits, an average accumulated growth of 7.1% was recorded in relation to the previous agricultural year.
In these ranks, cassava and sweet potato crops continue to lead.
In the field of seeds, 1965 tons of seeds were produced internally, of which 1155 were corn, 200 were beans, 110 were soya and 500 were wheat, which represents a very low level of availability for our needs.
For this year, the person responsible highlights, the implementation of the Plan to Promote Rice Production and fruit production is planned, which aims to diversify crops and improve the income of peasant families, as well as an animal repopulation plan.
Domingos Veloso reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to building three agri-food laboratories in the provinces of Zaire, Namibe and Moxico to provide food quality control services, at the main points of entry and exit of food products.
These laboratories will be accompanied by the admission of new staff, as well as ongoing training and the creation of incentives, which constitute one of the sector’s priorities.
