The information was provided by Pedro Chivela, head of the Forestry Development Institute (IDF), in statements to Angop on the sidelines of a seminar on the production of seed balls for reforestation.
Pedro Chivela explained that, within the scope of a planting programme promoted by the local government, it was possible to supply more than 6000 coffee seedlings to farmers and families who produced charcoal in these regions, with the aim of being planted during the current rainy season.
According to the person in charge, the project has the support of the National Coffee Institute, especially with regard to training more than 180 families in practices for cultivating this product.
He said that they are thus combating deforestation by involving communities that cut down trees to produce charcoal: "We are combating deforestation by including communities that cut down trees to make charcoal", said the person in charge of the IDF, who, quoted by Angop, also highlighted the need for productive economic activity within the law.
For Pedro Chivela, implementing a sustainable production method will boost the agribusiness sector, as well as increase family income, while alleviating the impacts of deforestation and climate change.
It should be noted that the problem of deforestation in Serra da Leba had already caught the attention of the authorities, who, in January of this year, announced that this problem would be combated by planting Robusta coffee on the slopes of the mountain.
