Malanje - The MPLA's Specialized Committee of economists has defended the need for more active participation by the family and business sectors in agriculture, with a view to guaranteeing food security in the province by increasing production.
This measure involves bringing the province's cooperatives and farmers' associations closer together, towards production for food security and diversification of the national economy.
Local Committee held a colloquium on the "Pillars for food security", which, among other things, served to analyze the problems of agriculture in the province and to seek to unite the class, with a view to finding funding mechanisms for agro-industrial projects for family and business farmers.
According to the Committee's first secretary in Malanje, Lizete Gonga, the colloquium was held in the wake of other initiatives promoted by the organisation that contribute to the province's economic stability.
She also emphasised the need for entrepreneurs in the fields of business and family farming to work together, as the most reliable mechanism for raising finance within the framework of the Executive's policies, through the intermediation of the Angolan Agricultural and Livestock Association (AAPA).
AAPA´s CEO, Vanderley Ribeiro, who was asked to speak on the subject, said that the country has a considerable deficit when it comes to food security, due to a lack of funding and some distancing between agricultural entrepreneurs, a situation that must be overcome.
He pointed out that the country still has many challenges when it comes to food security, as there are imports of food products that should be produced locally on a large scale, although the Executive is working to empower the business community so that it can improve production levels
In turn, the director of the Provincial Office of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Carlos Chipoia, said that there is a need to produce food in quality and quantities that can satisfy the diet of citizens, and that food security is not yet a reality in the province and in the country in general.
Food security stems from local production capacity to meet the needs of citizens, ensuring that everyone has at least three quality meals a day.
The meeting was held under the slogan "Policies for agro-industrial development" and was attended by members of Cooperatives and Peasant Associations from the 14 municipalities of Malanje province. NC/PBC/DAN/DOJ
