Cuito - Grup Agreement has said it will invest 5 million US dollars in agribusiness projects and construction of irrigation systems in Chinguar and Chitembo Municipality, Bié Province.
The amount was funded by the Development Bank of Angola (BDA) in March this year, the CEO of the Grup Agreement company, Luís Assis, has said.
So far, the company, created in 2012, has already prepared 2,000 hectares of arable land for the plantation of various products, especially potatoes.
Luís Assis, who was speaking during a workshop on irrigation systems, promoted by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Bié, said the investment has already provided more than 46 new jobs to the youth.
Grup Agreement is active in the fields of engineering and construction and agribusiness, with projects in the municipalities of Chitembo and Chinguar, the latter where it is planned to build a potato processing plant in the short term.
The group is also betting on mining, in partnership with the cement factory in Benguela Province, and in oil and gas business, in cooperation with the oil companies Chevron and Total.
The vice-governor for political, social and economic matters of Bié, António Manuel, who chaired the event, requested the bank to facilitate the granting of credit to businesspersons who want to invest in the agricultural sector to combat hunger among poor families.
For the 2022/2023 agricultural campaign, the sector has cleared about 300,000 hectares of arable land, against 250 thousand in the previous agricultural year, for the cultivation of corn, wheat, soybeans, and beans, among other products.
Bié province has 70,314 square kilometers and approximately 2 million inhabitants, 70 percent living in rural areas having agriculture as their main activity.
