"We have already exhausted the 'stocking' capacity of the warehouses, namely in Luanda and Benguela, and we already have warehouses in the Special Economic Zone, because we have a 'stock' of over 200,000 tons", said the REA coordinator, Eduardo Machado, when asked by Lusa.
According to the official, the REA currently has around 70,000 tonnes of rice, around 88,000 tonnes of maize, around 6,000 tonnes of soy, 3,700 tonnes of chicken and around 80,000 tonnes of sugar.
The REA, whose operation by the private group Carrinho began on December 21, 2021, is a Government initiative to influence the drop in prices of essential food products.
The "Fostering National Production and Sustainability of REA" were discussed in Luanda during the second edition of Café CIPRA (Press Center of the Presidency of the Republic of Angola).
Stabilizing prices and guaranteeing the supply of basic basket goods at non-speculative prices in the domestic market, ensuring a permanent physical 'stock' of essential foodstuffs in case of emergency situations and mitigating the risks and impacts of volatility in international markets are some of the objectives of the REA.
Eduardo Machado, one of the speakers at the second edition of Café CIPRA, made it known that the REA plans to register, between August and September, about 52,000 families and an as yet unidentified number of commercial farmers.
The registration, stressed the official, aims to provide 'kits' of agricultural support, which include fertilizers, seeds, pesticides and sprayers, "aimed at improving the production process and increasing crops".
Negotiating the future purchase, "under competitive conditions", of all the surplus of family and commercial production promoted within the scope of the REA program is also the basis of the register, as the coordinator of the national reserve said.
