Angola and Brazil signed last week night the action plan 2023/2025, as part of technical cooperation and development of irrigated regions and policies to support family farming in southern Angola.
The plan is part of the “Vale do Cunene” (Cunene Valley) Programme, an initiative whose direct beneficiaries are the population of the Vale do Cunene, a semi-desert region, an experience also lived by the population of the Vale de São Francisco, in Brazil.
The initiative is coordinated by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, involving other institutions of that South American country.
The Work Plan was signed by the deputy director of ABC Luísa Lopes and by the director of the Study and Statistics Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Angola Anderson Jerónimo.
The plan sets 25 priority actions, such as the elaboration of policies for family agriculture, training of Angolan staff and development of agricultural and livestock research.
The Vale do Cunene programme is a response to a request from President João Lourenço, who guides the authorities of the two countries (Angola and Brazil) to work together to diversify the agricultural production base in that region (Vale do Cunene).
The move is meant to stop depending on oil as the main export product for raising foreign exchange.
The project is integral and involves, in addition to the experience of knowledge and public policies, the attraction of investments in the production and inclusion of family farming.
The Cunene Valley project is similar to that of the São Francisco Valley, in Brazil, managed by Development Company of San Francisco Valley, which, in addition to family farming, was transformed into a region for large-scale diversified production, ensuring surplus for export.
The idea is to replicate in the extensive region of the Cunene Valley, with the irrigation channels being completed and expanded, a model that has been successfully implemented in Brazil.
