Luanda - Angola and the U.N Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday in Rome City, Italy, assessed the Strategy for Resilience of Angola's Food Systems.
During a meeting between the Angolan delegation and the FAO's Director-General, Qu Dongyu, on the sidelines of the 43rd FAO plenary, the main concerns of Angola regarding the ongoing programmes for agriculture and fisheries, the impact of climate change, as well as hiring Angolan staff to the FAO were addressed.
The minister for Fisheries, Carmen do Sacramento Neto dos Santos, took the opportunity to request FAO´s support regarding training of cadres in different fields, particularly fishing, framed in the aquaculture programme of the continent.
According to her, fish farming production in Angola, especially tilapia cultivation, has grown in several regions of the country, as a result of the mapping that has been done on potential areas for aquaculture production, carried out as part of cooperation between the Angolan government and the FAO.
On his turn, the secretary of State for Agriculture and Livestock, João Cunha, informed that the Angolan government wants to extend the assistance it grants to family farming, which benefits 90% of national agricultural production, namely to the rural schools project, to improve their production capacity and resilience.
João Cunha said that FAO technical support is welcome to help increase agricultural production in Angola, which had seen a rise of 5.6 percent, with the aim of achieving food self-sufficiency, as this is one of the main concerns of the Angolan government for reducing hunger and poverty.
The Director-General of FAO, Qu Dongyu, expressed the United Nations agency's willingness to continue to support viable projects and advised Angola to strengthen quality control of the main agricultural and fisheries products.
At the 43rd FAO plenary session held on Wednesday, the analysis of the food and agriculture situation in the world was the main theme.
During a roundtable discussion, participants also analyzed the importance of water infrastructure for development to meet the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a UN agency dedicated to international efforts to reduce world hunger.
VM/MRA/jmc
