Cachiungo - Ninety tonnes of reindeer potatoes are expected to be harvested this year from 10 hectares in the municipality of Cachiungo, Huambo province, by producer Américo Manuel.
Speaking to ANGOP on Monday, he said he was farming 60 hectares of land, of which 30 will be used for maize production, 20 for peanut and 10 for reindeer potatoes, whose activity has created temporary jobs for 200 people from neighbouring villages.
The farmer asked for more incentives from the Huambo provincial government for farmers in the municipality of Cachiungo to increase their cultivation areas, with a focus on reducing the prices of the basic food basket.
He said that the municipality has an acceptable water potential for agriculture, which allows the cultivation of maize, beans, peas, reindeer potatoes, sweet potatoes and vegetables, to guarantee food security, hence the need for peasants to have easier access to fertilisers and improved seeds.
In the current 2024/2025 agricultural season, the municipality of Cachiungo has 20,000 farming families involved, distributed in cooperatives and associations, who are buying fertiliser at subsidised prices of KZ 10,000 per 50-kilogram bag of fertiliser (12/24/12), compared to KZ 40,000 on the informal market.
The municipality of Cachiungo, with an area of 2,947 square kilometres, has an estimated population of 169,123 inhabitants, spread over the communes of Chinhama, Chiumbo and Sede.) JVS/ALH/DAN/DOJ