Benguela - The new impetus for relations between Angola and the United States of America (USA), with the visit of President Joe Biden from December 2 to 4, is a unique opportunity to boost agriculture along the Lobito Corridor.
This is the opinion of Fernando Assis, a university lecturer and coordinator of the Agro-Livestock Engineering course at the Benguela Higher Polytechnic Institute (ISPB), who predicts that President Joe Biden's visit could boost American investment in the agricultural sector.
According to the zoo technical engineer, Angola will take the most of the advantages of this partnership, especially in terms of agriculture promotion and guarantee of food security for the population.
For Fernando Assis, the Lobito Corridor is not just about transporting minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo, since there is enormous agricultural potential along the Benguela Railway (CFB).
The engineer praised the US interest in supporting the revitalization of the potential of the Lobito Corridor, including the development of agriculture, particularly in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Moxico.
‘The route from Benguela to Luau is an asset. We started with the history of bananas, cereals (wheat) and potatoes,’ he noted, also highlighting the commitment of entrepreneurs and the government to avocado growing, especially from Huambo to Moxico.
In his opinion, avocado is a crop that does very well in this area and producers take advantage of it to extract many oils that are being commercialized for both cosmetics and food products.
In addition, the zoo technical engineer also emphasized another potential that adds value to the Lobito Corridor, such as honey from Moxico.
‘We used to be the biggest exporters of wax in the world,’ he recalled.
Coffee
Fernando Assis highlighted the potential of coffee growing in Benguela province, which in June 2015 was the reason for a prospecting visit by the former US ambassador to Angola, Helen La Lime, to Fazenda Utalala, in Cubal.
At the time, he said, the US diplomat brought American coffee experts, who were impressed by the Arabica and Robusta coffee, which are the best blends in the world.
He suggests that Angola take advantage of the new era of relations with the US to strengthen the coffee sector, as part of this strategic partnership, with the aim of attracting more investment, generating more jobs and development. JH/CRB/DAN/AMP
