Malanje — Angolan head of State João Lourenço Wednesday assessed the operation and level of production at the Quizenga Lutete farm in the municipality of Cacuso, north-eat Malanje province.

João Lourenço witnessed the sowing of seeds in an area of 2,000 hectares for the 2023/2024 agricultural season, with harvest forecast of 11,000 tonnes of maize and 3,000 tonnes of soya.

Still, in Quizenga Lutete farm, João Lourenço visited the Water Catchment Centre, the tilled fields and production areas.

Gesterra CEO, Carlos Paim, said that in the 2022-2023 agricultural season the farm harvested 7,000 tonnes of maize and 3,000 tonnes of soya.

Quizenga Lutete farm is an agricultural project of the Angolan Executive focused on production of maize and soya and vocational training for young producers.

Estimated at more than USD 100 million, the project aims to boost the country's agricultural sector by providing land, taxed machinery, funding and institutional support.

President João Lourenço's trip to Quizenga Lutete comes at a time when the agricultural unit is preparing 840 hectares for 50 of the 150 young producers trained by Gesterra and settled on the farm.

Each has benefited from five hectares of land and a chicken coop.

Created in 2019, the farm began production in September 2022 and aims to help reduce poverty in the communities of Quizenga and beyond, through different lines of action, such as job creation and support for young farmers.

The 5,000-hectare unit has four silos with a capacity of 9,000 tonnes, a feed factory with an average production of 20 tonnes/day and a seed sorting machine.

The production unit has 190 national workers and four expatriates.

President João Lourenço arrived in Malanje this Wednesday for a two-day working visit to the region. NC/PBC/AL/ADR/DAN/NIC