Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, reiterated, this Saturday, in the municipality of Catabola, more support for projects developed by the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) in the province of Bié, with a view to becoming self-sufficient and contribute to the diversification of the national economy.
Speaking to the local press, after visiting the economic assets of the Social Security Institute of the Angolan Armed Forces (ISSFAA), José de Lima Massano considered the Camacupa Agro-industrial Farm, the Cerâmica Prémio da Paz, the Seedlings, as well as the Belchior and Ganga forest polygons.
He highlighted that these projects allow the needs of citizens to be met.
The Minister of State added that the support that the Executive has been giving to the Angolan Armed Forces has to do with technical and methodological assistance, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, a commitment that will be continuous to achieve the recommended objectives.
Regarding the Camacupa Agro-industrial Farm, José de Lima Massano said that it has the capacity to also serve the National Police, through the understanding that was reached, while the surplus should be made available to the national market.
On the other hand, he considered the involvement of peasant families around the farm, in the execution of the project, satisfactory, thus maximizing the supply of jobs and knowledge related to the agricultural sector and beyond.
Furthermore, he was satisfied with the capacity that Cerâmica Prémio da Paz should make available to citizens this year, as well as the hiring of more jobs, aiming at the well-being of families.
As for the Seedling Production Center, the Minister of State said that it places the country at an above-average level, due to the level of implementation of scientific research, to the extent that it should be fundamental in the Southern region of the continent, similar to the South Africa and Zambia.
During his stay of a few hours in Bié, José de Lima Massano, in the company of the ministers of Defense and Veterans of the Nation, João Ernesto dos Santos “Liberdade”, of Agriculture and Forestry, Francisco Assis, and the local governor, Pereira Alfredo, visited the agro-industrial farms of Camacupa and Arrozal.
It also noted the operation of Cerâmica Prémio da Paz and the Seedling Production Center, all located in the commune of Chipeta, municipality of Catabola.
Cerâmica Prémio da Paz, assigned to the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), located in the commune of Chipeta, 25 kilometers east of Cuito, is preparing to produce thirty thousand bricks per day, which will allow it to also be exported to the Republics of Zambia and Democratic Congo, starting this year.
At a national level, commercialization is expected in the provinces of Huambo, Moxico and Cuando Cubango.
To this end, since 2018, it has had two large-scale production lines, one for the production of bricks and the other for the manufacture of tiles and vaults, plates and cups, where a daily production of five thousand units of each is expected.
At this moment, for example, the first tests have already started, the results of which are satisfactory, indicating a daily production of five thousand bricks, a capacity initially planned when it was created in 2011.
In this first phase, the work is carried out by 76 workers, 19 contract employees and two expatriate technicians.
The plan to export the material will be mainly to Zambia and Democratic Congo, through the Benguela Railway (CFB).
This enterprise operated on an experimental basis between 2011 and 2013.
The Camacupa Agro-industrial farm occupies an area of 10 thousand hectares and in recent agricultural seasons has only been producing on three thousand hectares.
The enterprise has received special attention from the Executive in recent years, with the aim of producing enough, taking into account its size, especially to help reduce imports of goods that the country produces, such as corn, rice, beans, soybeans and other food items.
In terms of production, the industrial zone, at its maximum exploitation, can produce up to 20 tons of cornmeal per day.
The Camacupa Agro-industrial Farm is also dedicated to raising small and large animals and has 13 technicians trained in Veterinary Medicine.
The Belchior polygon currently has one million and 100 thousand trees, including eucalyptus, cedar, pine, parical and others.
By December 2023, it was expected to reach one million and 800 thousand plants, in an area of 1,500 hectares.
For the next 15 years, the projection is to plant 100 thousand hectares with different trees, in an investment that will be around 40 million dollars.
While in the Ganga polygon, in the municipality of Chinguar, which has more than four thousand and 600 hectares, over 800 hectares are planted, with a forecast of reaching one thousand and 500.
The seedling production center is located in an area of 36 thousand and 50 square meters, has three spare houses with 15 thousand square meters, a greenhouse with 126 square meters, 15 thousand square meters of seedling rustification area, substrate warehouse with 315 square meters, kitchen and dining room.
It also has a composting area of 111 square meters, administrative area, workshop and machinery park, residential area, toilets and wind curtain, with three thousand linear meters, in order to produce forest seedlings of high quality and health.
It has plantations of two hectares of various eucalyptus trees, 2.3 hectares of African mahogany, one hectare of acacia, equal to paricá, two hectares of Elliotti pine and taeda pine, teak, cedar, açaí, Arabica coffee seedlings, among others.
The undertaking aims to guarantee greater safety and protection of the environment, provide greater dignity to families and create businesses to generate dividends that finance the Reserve and Stabilization Fund of the FAA Social Security System, as well as reduce dependence on the General State Budget (OGE).
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