São Vicente — The Vice-President of Angola Esperança da Costa on Wednesday in Mindelo (Cape Verde) said the high threat to food systems represents one of the global concerns on the collective agenda and requires innovative solutions to safeguard food production.
Speaking at the opening of the first international congress, the Angolan Vice-President underlined that innovative solutions should reverse the outlook that shows a greater shortage of food production of 50 to 60 percent by 2050.
Esperança Costa added that the 2020-2029 projections indicate a global growth in agricultural production of 85 percent, due to greater use of inputs, investments in production technology and better cultivation practices.
The projections, the Vice-President said, also indicate an increase in direct emissions and consequently a high impact on emerging and less developed regions.
Esperança da Costa emphasised that the data suggests strengthening science, innovation and, above all, increasing literacy in the different areas of life, with an emphasis on transforming food systems, the digital, environmental and energy transition to counteract these trends.
"Human capital, along with the digital transition, is the key to development. It is therefore urgent to co-operate, integrate and establish partnerships in terms of training and capacity building in the most diverse areas of the higher education subsystem," Costa said.
The Vice-President added that Angola has a Human Capital Development Plan 2022-2035 (ACH 2022-2035), which will guarantee political and technical guidelines in line with the country's development priorities, including an effective adjustment of the training and adaptation of qualifications to the needs of the national labour market.
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According to Esperança da Costa, states must be aligned with international instruments, such as the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Development, the African Union 2063 and SADC's 2050 from a short, medium and long-term perspective, taking into account vocational training, increasing the quality and relevance of education and training on offer, supported by the digitalisation component.
Esperança da Costa stressed that the aim is to increase availability of qualified human resources in priority areas tailored to the real needs of the labour market, with the development of knowledge and skills needed by the public and private sectors.
The Congress, which includes conferences and round tables, addresses "The paths to quality scientific research in Lusophony, promoting dialogue between universities, political power and companies", as well as "Science, technology and innovation in Lusophone countries: challenges and opportunities in the 21st century".
The event is aimed at researchers, academics, decision-makers, university and postgraduate students from all Portuguese-speaking countries, working in their own countries or in the Diaspora.
Angola has an active participation of 46 lecturers from the most diverse areas of science and innovation, from the total of 150 researchers attending the event. PA/VM/AMP
