Luanda - With more than 3.1 million kilometers of arable land, Angola is only exploiting 662,570 kilometers, which corresponds to 20%, said Tuesday in Luanda Province, the minister of Economy and Planning, Mário Caetano João,
According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), the provinces of Uíge and Zaire have the richest soils in the country.
Speaking at a session aimed at consulting political parties represented in the National Assembly (Angolan parliament), in the scope of the Long Term Strategy Angola 2050, there is a need to work together with other sectors.
He affirmed that there will only be development in the agricultural sector with the involvement of the energy, water, urbanism and housing sectors, among others, which are totally connected and contribute to the growth and development of the country's economy.
At the time, Mário Caetano João listed out five axes that were the basis to lay out the new strategy plan, namely the investment in human capital, in infrastructures, in the domains of energy, roads, telecommunications, as well as in the diversification of the national economy.
To him, the rational use of the natural resources of the country, in a way to cater for the future generations, the right to equal opportunities complements the mentioned axes that guided the elaboration of the long term strategy.
The minister considered Angola 2050, to be the main instrument of the National Planning System, with a vision of long term development and economic growth, as a result of the revision of the previous plan, called Angola 2025.
To ensure its full implementation, he pointed out three principles that were observed for its elaboration, namely easy monitoring, the search for economic and financial coherence, as well as the need for greater articulation among the ministries that will intervene in the process.
On his turn, the president of the Social Renewal Party (PRS), Benedito Daniel, considered the act of consultation as a sovereign opportunity in order to jointly shape the future, by defining priority actions according to needs and specific conditions.
The party leader highlighted the theme of not delimiting the demography or reducing the birth rate, on the contrary, he stressed that there must be a balance between the wealth of the country, and the number of the population so that the economy is reflected in the lives of Angolan families.
The MPLA MP Idalina Valente, said that demographic growth must be balanced with the increase in wealth, but there can be no greater demographic advance at a pace greater than the country's economy.
Strategy foresees income
Regarding the government's viewpoint, the diversification of the economy will also allow greater acuity in income distribution and, in this way, raise the standard of living of a large part of the Angolan population.
"With this result, the forecast is that the proportion of the population living below the poverty level will reduce to 18% from the current 31%," according to a plan that also foresees that by 2050 more than 95% of per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be generated by the non-oil sector, which will be based on the increased productivity of the various sectors that include it", said the Angolan government official.
The Angolan government's forecasts indicate that agriculture and livestock sectors will increase their contribution in absolute value by about four times compared to 2022, becoming the third largest productivity sector with about 15% of the country's GDP.
The industry field is expected to increase about seven times, becoming the second largest sector of activity with about 20% of GDP, based on a large growth in agribusiness, light industry and intensive industry including petrochemical refining and steelmaking. JAM/BA//MRA/jmc
