According to the final communiqué of this Tuesday's meeting, a memorandum was adopted providing for short, medium and long term measures, which aim to mitigate the effects of the drought "in order to stop the increase in poverty in the affected communities and prevent their emigration. to other regions ".
In recent times, families affected by drought in the south have tried to escape hunger by fleeing to neighboring Namibia and many depend on family help or occasional offers to feed themselves.
The approved memorandum of understanding provides for the allocation of agricultural inputs, dissemination and popularization of the practice of root and tuber crops such as cassava and sweet potatoes in regions with severe drought, distribution of small irrigation equipment, rehabilitation and construction of small and medium-scale schemes. irrigation, introduction of forage crops in semi-arid regions, construction of dams and dams, river transfer and training in the use of new technologies and ways of managing livestock in pastoralist communities.
A document on food products was also approved with proposals for "one-off, temporary and urgent" measures to reduce their prices.
"In view of the emergency nature of this problem, the Economic Commission adopted some transitory and urgent measures, which should take effect over a period of four months, namely greater flexibility in the process of importing products from the basic basket; holding consultation meetings with the main producers and importers of food products and the creation of effective conditions for the implementation of the Strategic Food Reserve ", reads in the document.
At the meeting, the final report on the Barra do Dande integrated development terminal project was also appraised and the creation of a Free Zone to be managed by the Barra do Dande Development Society was approved.
The project will be developed using public-private partnerships and will be implemented in the coastal area of Bengo province, specifically in the municipality of Barra do Dande.
It includes the construction of port infrastructures for loading and unloading fuels and other goods, creating strategic reserves in the field of food, fuel and energy security, industrial, real estate and tourism development and the creation of a free zone.
