Icolo e Bengo - Farmers from the municipality of Icolo e Bengo, Luanda province, expressed their concern Thursday about the lack of a processing industry to take advantage of the surplus tomatoes produced in each harvest.
In statements to ANGOP, Teodoro José Chiuila, head of a farm that is harvesting large quantities of tomatoes, from 16 hectares, along National Road 110, said that they expect to harvest 30 tons of tomatoes.
The farmer revealed that due to the large quantities of tomatoes being harvested by dozens of farms in this area, the price of a 30 kg box, which could cost more than 10 thousand kwanzas, currently costs between 3 thousand and 3500. "We have been spending a lot on fuel for the motor pumps and agricultural inputs, so the sale price of tomatoes is not good for us", said another farmer, Manuel Catuaia.
According to this technician, given the inability to transport all of the production to the markets of Km30 (municipality of Viana) and Catinton (municipality of Luanda), considerable quantities of tomatoes are spoiled.
For this reason, he appeals to the Government or businesspeople with the capacity to set up industries for processing tomatoes into pulp, juices, among other food products, in order to avoid waste.
According to farmers who also grow crops such as corn, eggplant, onions, peppers and cucumbers, the lack of money to buy fertilizers and insecticides has made their activities difficult.
They stated that the prices of inputs are very high, with 1 kg of fertilizer costing more than 30 thousand kwanzas.
"To give you an idea, on one hectare, 10 bags of fertilizer are used, costing 37 thousand kwanzas each, 12 liters of fertilizers costing 25 to 30 thousand kwanzas each, in addition to the seeds themselves, which is very expensive", he explained. At this time, which is the tomato harvest, dozens of women from various provinces in Angola provide temporary services on these farms, which produce crops every three months.
Another problem highlighted has to do with the difficulty of sucking water from a river or lake that is three thousand meters away, requiring the installation of at least four motor pumps. The municipality of Icolo e Bengo controls 57 agricultural cooperatives and three peasant associations, the majority of which complain about the difficulties in accessing bank credit, despite being legalized, while others in the process of legalization contest the slowness of this process. AJQ/TED/DOJ
