Dala - The Samahina agricultural cooperative, one of the localities in the municipality of Dala, Lunda-Sul Province, expects to harvest 3.6 tons of soya this year, at a rate of 600 kilograms per hectare, according to its president, Caneji Samahina.
Speaking to ANGOP about the planting of this grain, he said that six hectares of land had been cultivated, with support from the Provincial Office of Agriculture and Fisheries.
He said that the members of the cooperative deforested the area manually, so they are asking the government for support with machinery to expand the cultivation area.
In turn, the municipal administrator of Dala, Lote Moutinho, explained that the production aims to help increase supply as part of the Integrated Programme for Local Development and Combating Poverty (PIDLCP), which aims to grow cereals on a large scale, given the fertility of the region's soils.
He said that he recognised the efforts made by the cooperative's members, guaranteeing that he would continue to support them with agricultural inputs and taxes, land clearing, so that there would in fact be an increase and diversification of planting.
The cooperative was created on 12 August 2021 and has 105 members, including ex-military personnel, the elderly and young people.
As well as soya, it also grows maize, beans and manioc.
The municipality of Dala, which is 145 kilometres from the capital (Saurimo), has an estimated population of 34,125 inhabitants, mainly peasants who are distributed in the communes of Dala, Cazage and Luma-Cassai.
JW/AC/MRA
