Africa-Press – Angola. The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, was informed Thursday, by the Brazilian ambassador to Angola, Rafael de Mello Vidal, about the progress of the Regional Cooperation Program for the Development of Agriculture in the Cunene Valley.
Speaking to the press, after being received in audience by the Angolan Head of State, the diplomat explained that the project, a partnership with the Brazilian government, aims to diversify the agricultural production base in Angola.
The programme, explained Rafael de Mello Vidal, responds to a request from President João Lourenço to work together with the Government of Brazil, in order to develop agriculture in that southern region of Angola.
The Brazilian diplomat made it known that the referred project for the agricultural development of the Cunene Valley involves the transfer of knowledge, public policies and attraction of investments.
The project “also aims to include family farming in that region”, noted the ambassador, adding that the initiative is being responded to by the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, within the framework of his government’s priorities in the field of agriculture and food security.
The ambassador considered Brazil’s participation in this project essential. “We are experiencing challenges similar to those that President João Lourenço wants in his management, which is the development of agriculture and the diversification of the productive base”, he expressed.
As an example, Rafael de Mello Vidal explained that Brazil carried out the same “revolution” in the São Francisco Valley, now managed by a Brazilian company.
“In the São Francisco Valley, the government has transformed the semi-arid region into a virgin region that currently not only includes family farming, but also serves national production and exports”, underlined the diplomat.
He stated that the idea is to replicate the extensive Cunene Valley with the completed and expanded irrigation channels. A model that was successfully implemented in Brazil.
About the Cunene Valley development program
The Regional Cooperation Program for the Development of Agriculture in the Cunene Valley has as direct beneficiaries the residents of the province, as well as the search for a better supply of water resources.
This programme, unprecedented in Angola, aims at developing the entire region of the Cunene River Valley, located on the border with the Republic of Namibia, which has been hit hard by drought over the last few years.
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