Lubango - The leader of the ruling MPLA, João Lourenço, visited Friday afternoon the Huila Cattle Fair, the largest business exchange in this sector in Angola, to hear breeders’ concerns, and openly interacted with them.
Speaking at the end of the meeting, the minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Francisco de Assis (of the current caretaker government), said the visit shows the concern of the MPLA leader, especially with issues related to the lack of a slaughterhouses, which safeguard the sanitary situation and put meat of quality in the market.
"There are small slaughterhouses, but they do not meet the market's needs. There is a study done by the Southern Cooperative and they delivered it to the President. Surely now we’ll begin to take the necessary steps", Mr Assis said.
He added that João Lourenço dedicates a "special attention" to the agriculture sector, through which the development of the country passes, in a way that a strong industry of meat production is created.
Lowering the import quota
The president of the Cooperative of Cattle Breeders of Southern Angola (CCGSA), Salvador Rodrigues, on his turn, said that with João Lourenço's visit "a new chapter has been opened".
"As you could see, the representatives of the cattle breeders of Angola are here, not only from the south. There is a focus of the MPLA government programme on production, so we ask you to help us lower the meat import quota in the country, since we have the capacity to supply 80 percent of the market", Mr Rodrigues said.
The MPLA president's visit programme reserves for Saturday a mass rally.
