According to the national director of Agriculture and Livestock of Angola, Manuel Dias, national agriculture is "strongly based" on subsistence family farming, "which does not fully guarantee the food and nutritional security of the population in Angola".
The situation "forces us to rely heavily on food imports", said the official, when speaking about the development of sustainable agriculture in Angola, at the Brazil – Angola Relationship Symposium, which took place this Tuesday, in Luanda.
Speaking on behalf of the sector's Secretary of State, Manuel Dias highlighted that, of the total cultivated area at national level, corporate agricultural holdings only contributed less than 9 percent.
Families contributed 91.5 percent of the total cultivated area in the 2021-2022 agricultural season, he added.
Regarding the preparation of agricultural areas according to different energy sources for mechanization, the official stated that 66 percent of agriculture in Angola is still done manually, 22 percent by animal traction and 6 percent by mechanization.
For the national director of Agriculture and Livestock of Angola, the popularization and expansion of agricultural mechanization, irrigation, plant and animal health, manufacturing of production factors, such as agricultural equipment, fertilizers, pesticides and vaccines throughout the territory constitute challenges for cooperation between Angola and Brazil, in the sense of "strengthening" family farming.
He also considered that direct Brazilian investment for agricultural production, strengthening the capacity for improvement and certification of seeds, genetic improvement of different types of livestock and agricultural research also constitute challenges for cooperation between Luanda and Brasília.
The Brazil-Angola Relationship Symposium, part of the 14th Brazil Week in Angola and the celebrations of Brazil's 201 years of independence, was held at the Guimarães Rosa Institute, in Luanda, by the Association of Brazilian Businessmen and Executives in Angola, which celebrates 20 years.
