Luanda — The chairman of the National Federation of Angolan Farming Cooperatives (Fenacoop), Salvador Rodrigues, on Saturday in Cuanza-Norte Province has called for greater investment in human resources in order to explore the country's cattle breeding capacity and supply 50% of the market.
According to the co-operative leader, who was speaking on the occasion of 'Cattle Breeder's Day', the increase in knowledge within the class will allow there to be more herds and for them to be raised sustainably.
He considered that there is no farming without agriculture, which is why training is urgently needed, as the country has enough capacity to supply at least 50% of the national market, if its logistics chain is well structured.
Data from the Agricultural and Fisheries Census (RAPP), launched by the National Statistics Institute (INE) in 2021, indicates that there are approximately six million head of cattle in the country, of which four thousand are controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, while 200 thousand belong to the private business sector.
In terms of cattle breeding production, four provinces in southern Angola give weight to the sector, namely Namibe, Huíla, Cunene and Cuando Cubango.
The head of the federation, which controls more than 20 co-operatives, believes it is necessary to restructure agribusiness, one of the value chains in farming.
To him, there is a need for more slaughterhouses, cold storage equipment and other means to be able to slaughter in good hygiene and food safety conditions and pass through the commercial circuit.
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On the occasion, the chairman of the Cuanza Sul cooperative, Francisco Figueiredo, expressed his desire to improve genetics and boost farms with more cattle, saying that the aim is to replace imports.
He said that the breeders had made an effort with the resources available and hoped that the National Plan for the Promotion and Development of Livestock (Planapecuária) would work within the approved package of around 300 million USD, so that they could carry out some of the plans.
Regarding the production, the chairman of the Union of Bengo, Cuanza-sul and Luanda Cooperatives said that there are 'islands' in the country, with some regions doing better than others in terms of their ability to obtain funding from the authorities.
In December 2022, the Government approved the National Plan for the Promotion and Development of Livestock (Planapecuária 2023-2025), which is part of a set of measures aimed at promoting the production of meat, milk and eggs, in order to guarantee the population's self-sufficiency in food and nutrition. The amount is approximately USD 300 million.
The measure aims to fight hunger and poverty, increase the incomes of producers and other players in the meat production value chain, as well as increase national farming production to meet domestic consumption needs, exports and increase the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). HM/VC/MRA/DOJ
