Malanje — An overall 40,000 tonnes of rice is expected to be produced during the 2023/2024 agricultural season in Angola's northern Malanje province, following the increase of the cultivation area from 2,500 to 7,450 hectares, the local governor Marcos Nhunga said Thursday.
Speaking at the end-of-year ceremony, the governor said after a harvest of 6,341 tonnes in the 2022/2023 agricultural season, production levels of the cereal will increase significantly.
In addition to rice, the governor said, cotton will be cropped in several municipalities with an initial production of 30 tonnes.
Marcos Nhunga said during the 2022/2023 agricultural year, the province harvested 1.7 million tonnes of cassava, 136,875 tonnes of sweet potatoes, 17,674 tonnes of beans, 5,700 tonnes of soya and 157,674 tonnes of maize, figures which, in his view, show the vast agricultural potential of the region, capable of making it a national agricultural production powerhouse.
The official guaranteed the government's continued support for family and business producers and openness to new national and foreign investments, given the conditions the province has for large-scale production.NC/PBC/AMP
