According to Leilande da Costa, director of the Provincial Office for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, if this target is achieved, production would be a historic agricultural record in the province, surpassing the 500,000 tonnes achieved in the previous campaign (2023/24).
And the outlook is good: in the first season of the 2024/25 campaign alone, it was possible to achieve 90 percent of last year's total production, as well as half of the production estimated for this year.
According to Angop, in the first agricultural season, the figures indicate a production of around 587,000 tonnes of various products, corresponding to more than 90 percent of the total production of the previous season.
With a forecast production of over one million tonnes in the 2024/25 campaign, the director expressed hope that this target will be achieved: "We are at the end of the second agricultural season and we are hopeful that we will be able to reach this target."
He added that the figures from the first season motivated and inspired farmers to achieve this goal.
More than 96,000 farming families in Benguela are involved in this harvest, which focuses mainly on tubers, corn, fruits – such as bananas – and grains – such as wheat, rice and beans.
The sector's efforts during the year to prepare the land, improve production techniques and provide support with agricultural inputs for family farmers were other points highlighted by the director.
He also spoke of the importance of field schools – Benguela currently has 158 establishments of this type that are monitored by extension technicians – whose purpose is to teach family farmers to implement better agricultural practices, such as modern irrigation, use better seeds, etc.
"We want our producers to have the skills to build or desilt irrigation ditches, make diversions, irrigate with or without rain, and plan production appropriately," he said, quoted by Angop.
Rain is one of the constraints of agriculture, but it can be overcome with other forms of irrigation, and the official highlighted that, through field schools, the generation of traditional farmers who depend on rain is gradually changing their mentality.
He therefore expressed optimism that agricultural production in 2024/25 will be the largest ever achieved in the province, given that the field schools have been helping farmers.
In addition, another important element he mentioned was the support from the executive with 6000 tons of agricultural inputs, with 5400 tons of fertilizers delivered to farmers, writes Angop, which adds that this support was provided by the provincial government through the agriculture sector.
