Catabola - The Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, reiterated, on Saturday, in the municipality of Catabola, more support for projects developed by the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) in the province of Bié, with a view to becoming self-sufficient and contributing to the diversification of the national economy.

Speaking to the local press, after visiting the economic assets of the Social Security Institute of the Angolan Armed Forces (ISSFAA), José de Lima Massano considered the Camacupa Agro-industrial Farm, the “Prémio da Paz” Ceramics, the Seedling Production Centre, as well as the Belchior and Ganga forest polygons to be of great value.

He stressed that these projects make it possible to meet the needs of citizens.

The Minister of State added that the support that the Executive has been giving to the Angolan Armed Forces has to do with technical and methodological assistance, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, a commitment that will be continuous to achieve the recommended objectives.

Regarding the Camacupa Agro-industrial Farm, José de Lima Massano said that it also has the capacity to serve the National Police, through the understanding that was signed, while the surplus should be made available to the national market.

On the other hand, he considered the involvement of peasant families around the farm in the implementation of the project to be satisfactory, thus maximizing the supply of jobs and knowledge related to the agricultural sector and beyond.

In addition, he was satisfied with the capacity that the Ceramic Peace Prize should make available to citizens this year, as well as the hiring of more jobs, aiming at the well-being of families.

As for the Seedling Production Centre, the Minister of State said that it places the country at an above-average level, because of the degree of implementation of scientific research, as it should be fundamental in the southern region of the continent, similar to South Africa and Zambia.

During his stay of a few hours in Bié, José de Lima Massano, in the company of the Ministers of Defense and Veterans of the Homeland, João Ernesto dos Santos 'Liberdade', of Agriculture and Forestry, Francisco Assis, and the local governor, Pereira Alfredo, visited the agro-industrial farms of Camacupa and Arrozal.

He also noted the operation of the Prémio da Paz Ceramics and the Seedling Production Centre, all located in the commune of Chipeta, municipality of Catabola.

The Peace Prize Ceramics, assigned to the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), located in the commune of Chipeta, 25 kilometers east of Cuito, is preparing to produce thirty thousand bricks a day, which will also allow it to export to the Republics of Zambia and Democratic Congo, starting this year.

At the national level, commercialization is expected in the provinces of Huambo, Moxico and Cuando Cubango.

To this end, since 2018, it has had two large-scale production lines, one for the production of bricks and the other for the manufacture of tiles and vaults, plates and cups, where a daily production of five thousand units of each is expected.

At the moment, for example, the first tests have already started, the results of which are satisfactory, which point to a daily production of five thousand bricks, a capacity initially foreseen when it was created in 2011.

In this first phase, the work is carried out by 76 workers, 19 contract employees and two expatriate technicians.

The plan to export the material will be, fundamentally, to Zambia and Democratic Congo, through the Benguela Railway (CFB).

This project operated on an experimental basis between 2011 and 2013.

The Camacupa Agro-industrial farm occupies an area of 10,000 hectares and in recent agricultural seasons has been producing only 3,000 hectares.

The enterprise has received special attention from the Executive in recent years, in order to produce enough, taking into account its size, especially to help reduce imports of goods that the country produces, such as corn, rice, beans, soybeans and other food products.

In terms of production, the industrial zone, at its maximum exploitation, can produce up to 20 tons of corn meal per day.

The Camacupa Agro-industrial Farm is also dedicated to the breeding of small and large animals and has 13 technicians trained in Veterinary Medicine.

The Belchior polygon currently has one million and 100 thousand trees, including eucalyptus, cedars, pine and others.

By December 2023 it was expected to reach one million and 800 thousand plants, in an area of one thousand 500 hectares.

For the next 15 years, the projection is to plant 100 thousand hectares with various trees, in an investment that will be around 40 million dollars.

While in the Ganga polygon, in the municipality of Chinguar, which has more than four thousand and 600 hectares, more than 800 hectares are planted, with a forecast to reach one thousand and 500.

The seedling production center is located in an area of 36,500 square meters, has three houses with 15,000 square meters, a greenhouse with 126 square meters, 15,000 square meters of seedling hardening area, a substrate room with 315 square meters, a kitchen and a cafeteria.

It also has a composting area of 111 square meters, administrative area, workshop and machine park, residential area, toilets and wind curtain, with three thousand linear meters, in order to produce forest seedlings of high quality and health.

It has plantations of two hectares of various eucalyptus, 2.3 hectares of African mahogany, one hectare of acacia, two of pinus elliotti and pinus taeda, seedlings of teak, cedar, açaí, arabica coffee, among others.

The undertaking aims to ensure greater security and protection of the environment, to give greater dignity to families and to create businesses to generate dividends that finance the Reserve and Stabilization Fund of the FAA Social Security System, as well as to reduce dependence on the General State Budget (OGE). JEC/PLB/DOJ