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Lack of specialized knowledge is “serious obstacle” in the agricultural sector, says association

The lack of specialized knowledge of Angolan agricultural and livestock operators represents a "serious obstacle" to the development of the sector, which employs 88,000 workers, of which 79 percent "do not have any training in the area", an associative source announced this Friday.

: Lusa
Lusa  

According to the president of the AAPA-Agro-livestock Association of Angola, Wanderley Ribeiro, who was speaking on the second and last day of the Angola-France Business Forum, in Luanda, the lack of specialized knowledge is one of the sector's "weaknesses".

"We believe that the challenges have been identified, we know our strengths and weaknesses and we are aware that it will also be through collaboration with our [French] partners that we will more easily overcome the challenges of the path", he said.

Wanderley Ribeiro, who took part in the closing ceremony of the forum, which was attended by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, considered that knowledge should be seen as the "foundation and foundation" for the maxim of the first Angolan President, Agostinho Neto: " Agriculture is the basis and industry is the decisive factor".

The official made it known, at this meeting that brought together dozens of French and Angolan businessmen from the agricultural sector, that of the 365,000 students in the Angolan higher education system, only 18,000 are training in the agriculture and livestock sector.

"It is a representation of less than 5 percent, a self-explanatory indicator of the way we still have to go in this domain, mainly because it is a strategic area for the country", he noted.

Technical and scientific knowledge is currently configured in Angola "as the most important input for all the harvests that we have ahead of us", he pointed out.

The president of AAPA also expressed satisfaction with the development of the cooperation agreements underway between the Instituto Agro de Montpellier in France and the University José Eduardo dos Santos, in the province of Huambo, and with the methodological innovation of the Program for the Development of Commercial Agriculture, co-financed by the French Development Agency and the World Bank.

According to the associative leader, the provision of technology is another fundamental factor for the success of agribusiness, both in terms of increased productivity, genetic quality and efficiency gains.

"We greatly appreciate the experience and different technologies represented by the French companies present at this forum, which will naturally allow us to save precious time on our journey towards the development of agriculture and livestock in Angola", he stressed.

He also expressed the willingness of Angolan businessmen to explore the various opportunities presented by French companies at this meeting, with emphasis on milk production, which, as it can be seen, "is one of the objective opportunities, with at least one case of success in Angola in the use of French genetics".

The AAPA also wants to count on the presence of French businessmen in the professional qualification of family farming, "which represents about 89 percent of Angolan production" and is characterized by the grouping in cooperatives and associations.

The adoption of a professional management model for cooperatives will represent an important milestone in gaining efficiency and formalizing family farming in Angola.

A memorandum of understanding between AAPA and its French counterpart Medefi (Movement of Enterprises of France International) was initialed in this forum, with a view to developing new partnerships between the French and Angolan private sectors in the production sectors of cassava, maize, soy, cotton, cereals, peanuts, coffee, fruits and others.

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