Malanje — MPLA leader João Lourenço Wednesday in northern Malanje province called for a greater commitment to agriculture to make the country self-sufficient in food production.

João Lourenço made the call during a mass political event, as part of the campaign for the general elections on the 24th August, underway in the country.

In his speech, João Lourenço, who is also President of the Republic, considered it necessary to continue working to diversify the economy, with agriculture being a "fundamental sector".

"We are rich, we aspire to be an industrialised country, but with agriculture always in mind," he said.

Alluding to the province's potential to produce surpluses for export, João Lourenço encouraged the production of rice, corn, wheat and cotton.

"Malanje is a blessed land, it has everything, good climate and good land," added the MPLA leader, who appealed to private business to invest in the tourism sector, one of Malanje's biggest attractions.

The MPLA candidate for President of the Republic praised the implementation of several programmes that contribute to increasing the income of the most vulnerable families.

He expressed his party's permanent attention to national, secondary and tertiary roads to facilitate the flow of production to consumption centers.

Malanje province has registered 509,616 voters, who will exercise their right to vote in local 644 polling stations.

The MPLA, UNITA, PRS, FNLA, APN, PHA and P-NJANGO and the CASA-CE coalition compete for the general elections on 24 August.

Roughly 14.3 million voters are eligible to vote in upcoming polls.