Mbanza-Kongo — Approximately 8,000 cashew seedlings were distributed during the last agricultural campaign to agricultural associations and cooperatives in the coastal municipalities of Zaire, as part of a program to relaunch this crop in the region.
According to the director of the Provincial Office of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in Zaire, Gouveia da Silva Pedro, in an interview with ANGOP, the local government, through the sector he leads, intends to revitalize cashew production, which in the 70s and 80s was the main crop cultivated by the inhabitants of the coastal municipalities.
The source explained that of the eight thousand seedlings made available by the Provincial Government, in partnership with the company Seatag, five thousand were distributed to farmers organized in cooperatives in the municipalities of Soyo, Quêlo, Nzeto and Tomboco.
He added that another two thousand seedlings will be distributed to companies linked to the agricultural sector in the region, for their multiplication.
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"With this project, we intend to diversify crops and produce more for export of the surplus," he stated.
He emphasized that the province has arable soils suitable for the production of any type of crop, also highlighting coffee production on a not very large scale.
According to the official, the local government, in collaboration with the National Coffee Institute (INCA), plans, in a first phase, to plant approximately 120,000 Arabica coffee plants in the region.
"We have many projects in the pipeline to diversify our agricultural production. We are also testing cocoa cultivation," he said, without specifying the location or quantity.
The province of Zaire currently has 98 associations and 277 agricultural cooperatives, of which 59 are legally registered.
The province has agricultural potential, with cassava, peanuts, corn, beans, sesame, bananas, citrus fruits, sweet potatoes, yams, sugarcane, and vegetables being the most produced products.DMN/JL/CF/DOJ
