Menongue - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Angola has said it will continue to provide technical support to the country, especially to the Ministry of Agriculture in the quest for possible assistance at national and international level to enable it to achieve food self-sufficiency as soon as possible.
This was reiterated on Thursday in Menongue city, Cuando Cubango province, by the FAO coordinator in Angola, Domingos Panzo, at the end of the provincial workshop for dialogue and public consultation on the National Family Farming Policy attended by representatives of the main players in family farming.
Panzo stressed that the FAO's role is to provide technical support to the Angolan government in the food and agriculture sectors.
According to him, Angola has a population growth of 3% every year, which also requires a change in production strategies to keep up with this increase, with a view to combating people in vulnerable conditions.
He spoke of the importance of having clear agricultural productivity policies and an increase in the availability of food for the population and to know what is available from national production to reduce imports.
Regarding the public consultation, Domingos Panzo said that it served to gather input from local stakeholders, whose participation was positive, as it will help to design a policy in line with the most pressing needs for the upcoming challenges in the agricultural sector.
The director of Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries in Cuando Cubango, José Luís Jonatão Navalha, on his turn said family farming is a strategic sector to maintain and recover employment, redistributing income and guaranteeing the country's food sovereignty, as well as for building sustainable development.
The official underlined the importance of implementing rural/agricultural diversification, as this could reduce the risks of having just one activity as the main source of income and family maintenance.ALK/FF/PLB/DAN/AMP
