Luanda — Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) may fund an agribusiness project alongside the irrigated area of the Cafu channel, informed Friday, in Luanda, the Brazilian ambassador to Angola, Rafael Vidal.
As part of the strategic investment cooperation between the two states and to continue diversifying the production base of Angolan agriculture, Brazil will explore different areas of farming along the Cafu canal.
To this end, the diplomat who was speaking at a seminar on "Brazilian agricultural policy and cooperation with Angola", promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, said that there is an urgent need to open up a funding line, which firstly it should be with the BNDES, as Angola has paid off its entire debt to that Brazilian bank.
"Recently, Angola paid off its entire debt to BNDES, which totaled USD 3.5 billion (one dollar equivalent to 760.89 kwanzas), and now it has all the conditions to request new funding to support the different projects underway", he said.
The diplomat explained that since the end of the 1990s and 2000, Angola had been the country that had taken out the most loans from the BNDES, but which, in recent years, has already paid off all its debt.
In this regard, Rafael Vidal said that the Brazilian Bank has a capital available for financing of USD 100 billion, with interest rates that were competitive on the international market, with easy access to credit lines.
According to the Brazilian ambassador, President Lula da Silva, determined the resumption of funding lines, through previous studies, to help projects in partner countries of the Federal Republic of Brazil.
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Rafael Vidal said that the project aims to help boost agricultural production, diversify the production base of Angolan agriculture, as well as contributing significantly to food security and self-sufficiency.
The financing project, which is scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2024, is focused in irrigated agriculture and family farming, as well as to transform the potential of water into large-scale production with small local farmers.
According to the ambassador, the project will be developed over 10 years on a public production model, adding that at the first stage for the implementation of the project, they are looking for the models, the strengths and weaknesses and setting up a multidimensional committee to manage the plan.
The project's second state will focus on the investments and its execution based on the public policies and the first projects, as well as from the infrastructures, agricultural and veterinary research and investigation.
At the time, the director of the Studies and Planning of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Anderson Jerónimo, considered that experience sharing between specialists is essential to boost agricultural production in the country.
"Brazil has an agricultural domain and is one of the world's biggest food producers, and is coming to Angola to bring its strengths", he said.
Brazil 's delegation visited the irrigated areas of Cafu in Cunene Province and the Matala in Huíla province. OPF/AC//MRA/jmc
