Malanje- The director-general of Angola's Institute for Industrial Development and Technological Innovation (IDIIA) Filomena de Oliveira said Monday in Malanje that there is waste in vegetable production, especially tomatoes.
According to the official, the losses in the country due to tomatoes rotting, allegedly due to a lack of outlets and consumers, is due to a lack of initiative on the part of producers, as it is a product that can be dried or packaged.
Speaking on the sidelines of the first Agro-Industrial Fair of the Northern Region of Angola, which Malanje hosted in April, the official emphasized that like mushrooms, tomatoes can also be dried, but many farmers don't do it because of a lack of knowledge.
Filomena de Oliveira added that in order to avoid these losses, industry must be allied with agriculture, so that food processing becomes a reality in the country, and called for companies to be legalized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in order to facilitate and promote imports and exports of goods.
The official warned against spending money on production without thinking about sales and marketing and perhaps registering patents and product quality, in order to make the country's agro-industrial projects sustainable.
At least 205 exhibitors of the agro-industry sectors from Malanje, Luanda, Huambo, Benguela, Cabinda, Uíge and Cuanza-Norte displayed products in the fair that generated a 325 million kwanzas turn over, with the sale of agricultural and industrial products, machinery and equipment, among others.NC/PBC/TED/AMP
