Lubango – The Angolan company Jardins de Yoba, dedicated to the production of improved seeds, and the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), from Brazil, signed an agreement aimed at developing highland rice genotypes adapted to Angola's environmental conditions.
The protocol was formalized last March, in Brazil, and has an implementation period of 10 years, the 2nd of which provides for shared technology transfer and shared seed selection and improvement programs, after a first of cooperation for knowledge transfer.
Speaking to ANGOP this Friday, in Lubango, capital of the southern Huila Province, the general director of Jardins da Yoba, João Saraiva, considered that the agreement for the transfer of technologies in rice cultivation is of “great” importance for combating hunger and poverty in the country.
“Highland rice, as a crop that does not require large investments in infrastructure, as it is suitable for the family farming system predominant in Angola”, he stated.
He highlighted that access to this technological package is strategic for the development of national agriculture, as well as transversal training programs, a training model extended to technicians, university professors and students, which promises to expand the partnership to other areas of knowledge.
For the UFLA representative in the agreement, Flávia Botelho, the development and launch of strains adapted to biotic stress (diseases, pests and others) and abiotic (frost, drought and others) for a given region is important to increase grain productivity in a constant and sustainable way.
He highlighted that rice cultivation is relevant, mainly, in developing countries, where it can directly influence income, health, the environment and social well-being, as in the case of Angola, since it is considered, along with beans, the basis of the population's diet.
The specialist in rice genetic improvement stated that, among the countries on the African continent, Angola currently produces 25 thousand tons of rice/year, which is below the more than 400 thousand tons imported annually.
The specialist also justified the relevance of the agreement, highlighting that in the agricultural sector it is important, not only for the promotion of self-sufficiency and food security, but also in terms of supplying raw materials to the manufacturing industry and for employability, one of the crucial problems in rural areas.
In this context, according to the official, rice can represent a way of diversifying the country's economy, which has the challenge of feeding 37 million inhabitants, of which 38% of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition.
“The University will participate in one of the biggest social and economic transformations in Angola, contributing substantially to the fight against hunger and malnutrition, building sustainable agriculture with a relevant impact on society”, he reinforced.
The general director of Jardins da Yoba, João Saraiva, made a visit to the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) from the 25th to the 27th of last March.
The Angolan delegation, which included professionals from the company Jardins de Yoba and other partner institutions, had the opportunity to visit the experimental field of the Terras Altas Rice Genetic Improvement Program - UFLA Best-Rice Program, at the Center for Scientific and Technological Development in Agriculture, located at Fazenda Muquém, in Ijaci.
The Program has been carried out for more than three decades in partnership with the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (Epamig) and Embrapa Arroz e Feijão. It is coordinated by researcher Flávia Botelho, with the participation of professor Yasmin Vasques Berchembrock and Epamig researcher Janine Magalhães Guedes, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.
During the visit to the experimental field, a brief presentation was also made of the new upland rice crop CMG 1590 (provisional name) (in the main photo), developed and tested within the scope of the partnership between UFLA, Epamig and Embrapa. The lineage is in the registration phase with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), already producing seeds and pre-launching its characteristics and agronomic advantages.
It is a crop that stands out for the highest percentage (%) of whole grains after shelling, in addition to higher productivity, and is recommended for all regions of Minas Gerais, especially for family farming. The official launch is expected to take place in the second half of 2024.
Flávia Botelho is a researcher and professor responsible for the Better Rice program at UFLA, having a PhD in Genetic Rice Improvement and a post-doctorate in Biotechnology applied to gene editing.
Currently, rice production in Huíla is carried out residually in the municipalities of Matala, Cuvango and Jamba.
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