Africa-Press – Angola. The vice-president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Donal Brown, expressed Tuesday, the organization’s intention to finance the expansion of the family aquaculture project in other provinces of the country, with a view to improving conditions of families’ lives.
The Artisanal Fishing and Aquaculture project (AFAP) started in 2015 and the implementation phase ended in September 2022, with funding of US$12 million from IFAD, for the continental fishing component (in the provinces of Luanda, Bengo and Cuanza Norte) and aquaculture, only in Malanje.
In Malanje, 261 tanks were built under the aforementioned project, each village with 2,500 fingerlings and benefiting around 250 families, affiliated to cooperatives.
Donal Brown gave this guarantee during a visit to assess the impact of the AFAP project in Malanje, having guaranteed that the experiences resulting from the implementation of the pilot phase of the aquaculture component will be replicated in other regions of the country, to maximize the results.
He said that, in addition to covering new families, they intend to reinforce the technical assistance of households that already benefit locally, without neglecting the improvement of fish processing, in order to add value to the production chain.
Without revealing the amount to be invested, he added that they would meet in the next few days with the Angolan government to outline financing strategies.
On the occasion, the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Carmen Neto, highlighted the importance of the AFAP project in improving the living conditions of families in the communities and stressed that the ministry will continue to provide its support to cooperatives, with a view to achieving satisfactory results.
In turn, the governor of Malanje, Marcos Nhunga, reiterated the need for the project to be sustainable, given its contribution to ensuring food security for families.
From 2015 to 2022, the AFAP project resulted in the capture of more than 100 tons of cacusso fish.
The initiative also includes the production of vegetables to improve the diet of the target audience.
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