Africa-Press – Angola. The coffee producer, Jorge Chaves, considered this Saturday that Angola needs to invest in research, extension, innovation and agricultural mechanization, to return to being a reference in the world production panorama and recover the confidence of the families that produce the red berry.
According to the coffee grower, Angola was one of the countries south of the Sahara to start producing coffee on a large scale. Taking into account its privileged geo-location and endo-climatic climate, the country, with a serious commitment, will be able, in the medium term, to recover its former position in world coffee production.
In an interview, on the sidelines of World Coffee Day, which was celebrated on April 14, the also representative of the Federation of Coffee, Polmares, Cocoa and Cashew Producers (Recafé) in Cuanza Sul, pointed out innovation, sustainability, technology and adding value as pillars to catapult coffee production in Angola.
Asked about the state of coffee production in the country, the farmer considered it “painful”, since production is currently estimated at 2%.
This fact, according to the specialist, is due to the fact that the large producers are leaving the coffee culture for survival crops, such as cassava, maize and other productions.
Another problem that is at the base of the weak coffee production is based on the phenomenon of burning and destruction of several coffee plantations and the gravel (tree used for shading the coffee plants).
In this sense, says the official, small producers and families have lost the incentive to produce, difficulties in accessing inputs and the general lack of agricultural means.
In the view of the head of Recafé in Cuanza Sul, there are few incentive policies for coffee production in the country.
“Angola falls short of the various world producers, as coffee production worldwide already has other technical and technological frameworks for all areas of the value chain and not just the land, man and machine component”, he asserted.
According to Jorge Chaves, national coffee production still essentially depends on the traditional irrigation system and rainfall.
In countries like Mozambique, with no tradition in coffee growing, they are already using a drip irrigation system for coffee.
According to the farmer, it is possible to reverse the situation, “because we have the potential to develop, with sustainability, mechanization, automation, technical assistance and with strong research in the agro-industrial field”.
For the person in charge of Recafé in Cuanza Sul, the province needs an investment of around US$200 million for the effective relaunch of coffee in the province, fundamentally with the Project for the Development of Young People in Coffee, along with the creation of a Shopping Center of Provincial coffee.
The expert also understands that it is important to promote coffee tourism, create the coffee intelligence center, as well as the installation of central laboratories.
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