The information was provided by João Joaquim, general director of the aforementioned cooperative, who, in an interview with Jornal de Angola, stated that the project could be implemented in the second half of February next year and that it will initially include two municipalities, namely Viana and Belas.
The plan envisages the construction of round structures with 13 diameters and 1.5 metres in height and aims at large-scale fish production.
With development using the company's own funds, the initiative has approximately 20 members and, upon completion, will benefit 30 young people with direct jobs and 60 with indirect jobs, with almost all (90 percent) of the human resources being hired locally.
Although its initial implementation is aimed at the province of Luanda, the project will have a national scope, especially in remote regions of Malanje, Cuando Cubango, Moxico and the east of the country, where fish availability is almost non-existent. In these regions, 15 tanks will be built for intensive fish production, writes Jornal de Angola.
To be developed through the creation of an Educational Hub focused on tilapia farming throughout the country, the project will provide a sustainable food source, as well as generating jobs and increasing the income of many local families.
"As part of the expansion of the program, there is a great need to work with families to train, encourage and promote tilapia farming for self-sustainability, as well as developing the business chain for this product," said the official.
Regarding the origin of the raw material, the cooperative's general director assured that there are some local organizations that hold fingerlings intended for breeding and for the production of feed, to chicken, and other products that are available in Angola that simplify the process of natural breeding of the portion and that contribute to avoiding increasing the costs of the project, writes Jornal de Angola.
"One of the biggest challenges when it comes to implementing tilapia farming has been the feed. The feed usually comes from abroad and this route alone makes the project more expensive, so if we create our own feed we will be significantly reducing our costs", he explained.
According to the person in charge, it is important that institutions show more sensitivity to ensure that financing from both banks and non-banks geared towards fish production actually reaches the operators.
He also reported that the project also includes the signing of agreements with small and large national companies to establish commercial partnerships, enabling low-income national families to have access to the product.
The initiative, in line with the goals of the Economic and Social Development Programme for families across the country, has had its own investment underway since 2022 and contributes to the strategic actions of local authorities to combat poverty.
In this area, obtaining bank financing is a major challenge and, although the State has implemented some incentives to promote fishing activity at a national level, the aforementioned cooperative has not yet had access to the resources available through specific financing lines for the sector.
To facilitate this process, the person in charge, quoted by Jornal de Angola, believes that all entities in the sector should be catalogued and an assessment of the initiatives put forward by various companies should be carried out.
