Benguela – The Nelson Rodrigues Agro-Pecuária Farm (NR), in the province of Benguela, will produce 160 tons of highland rice this year, aiming to promote this crop in the region, ANGOP learned.
The Nelson Rodrigues Farm pilot initiative comes at a time when the Government has defined large-scale rice production as the flagship of the 2023-2024 agricultural campaign, within the scope of the National Food and Nutritional Security Strategy.
The information was provided by businessman and farm owner, Nelson Rodrigues, regarding the event called “Terras Altas Rice Field Day – from Planting to Table Field Day”.
For this, he said an area of 20 hectares of arable land was prepared, with a drip irrigation system, for the start, within days, of experimental rice production in Dombe Grande.
According to him, the farm will focus on twenty varieties of rice, which showed encouraging results during technical tests carried out by a team of researchers from the Federal University of Lavras of the State of Minas Gerais – UFLA, in Brazil.
He mentioned that this rice is highly productive, as each hectare can produce up to eight tons, hence the interest that this crop is arousing among the local community.
In this context, he highlighted the challenge launched by Sociedade Jardins da Yoba and the Association for Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship – SEIVA, in partnership with the Federal University of Lavras of the State of Minas Gerais.
“We ended up accepting the challenge to show the entire community that it is possible to grow rice in Dombe Grande”, highlighted Nelson Rodrigues, optimistic that, based on the results of the technical tests, the production of rainfed rice will gain strength in the near future.
Another investment by the Agricultural Farm, he indicated, is the production of 150 hectares of butter beans this year.
Technical assistance
In turn, the vice-president of SEIVA, Romão Peixoto, considered the Nelson Rodrigues agricultural farm an important partner in boosting rice cultivation in Dombe Grande, which is why the institution will provide all technical support.
He stated that the Dombe Grande region presented the best results in upland rice cultivation compared to the trials carried out by UFLA in Huíla, Uíge and Malanje, with the flooded system predominating in the latter two provinces.
He announced that the institution will also support 20 peasant families, who will be engaged in the production of a 20-hectare plot of rice in the highlands of Dombe Grande.
Over time, Romão Peixoto predicts that peasant families will be able to increase their production area, according to their financial conditions.
“We want to show that it is a culture that families can do,” he noted.
He noted that, within the framework of the partnership with Grupo Carrinho, the flow of all highland rice production in the Dombe Grande commune is assured.
“We have an embryo here that will allow other regions to also start producing highland rice”, he concluded.
Terras Altas Rice Field Day – from Planting to the Table was a joint promotion between Sociedade Jardins da Yoba and the Association for Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship – SEIVA, in partnership with the Federal University of Lavras of the State of Minas Gerais – UFLA, in Brazil.
The event presented the results of technical genetic improvement trials of 20 strains or genetic materials (rice plants) developed by UFLA, in partnership with “Embrapa” and EPAMIG (Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais). JH/CRB/DOJ
