Efforts to deepen agribusiness cooperation between Angola and Brazil are on track for approval ahead of Angolan President João Lourenço’s state visit to Brasilia next week, reports online news platform Further Africa.
The Brazilian government made the announcement following a “productive” high-level mission to Angola earlier this month. Led by Carlos Fávaro, Brazil’s agriculture and livestock minister, the delegation included some 30 agribusiness entrepreneurs and toured sites across the northern provinces of Luanda, Malanje and Cuanza Norte. Delegates also met with local private sector stakeholders to discuss investment and financing opportunities.
The visit aimed to develop concrete proposals to enhance bilateral agriculture cooperation, which will be formally presented to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his meeting with Lourenço later this month. Fávaro said Lula is “very enthusiastic” about advancing agricultural partnerships with the fellow lusophone nation and is looking forward to reviewing the finalised proposals.
Before that meeting, Brazil will host a three-day meeting with African agriculture ministers in Brasilia starting 20 May. It will mark the first high-level gathering under the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, launched at the 2024 G20 Summit held in Brasilia last November. The agricultural powerhouse aims to “share knowledge with our African partners and explore ways to combat hunger,” Lula said when the meeting was announced in January.
[See more: A new generation of Angolan cocoa grower set to undergo training in Brazil]
Angola is particularly well-situated to take advantage of Brazilian expertise, as its soil characteristics resemble those of the highly productive Cerrado region of Brazil, easing the way for technology transfer and joint agricultural development. Fávaro noted as much during the high-level visit, telling press that Brazil and Angola “share similar climates, land, water and potential for tropical agriculture.” The southern African country also has a great deal of untapped potential with an estimated 35 million hectares of arable land, two distinct seasons and flat terrain ideal for mechanised farming.
Realising that potential is key to establishing food security in Angola. While the country has a strong output of crops like cassava, sweet potatoes and bananas, it needs to ramp up production of staple crops like rice and wheat, which currently face significant shortfalls.
Meat production also needs to be increased. Egg production remains limited despite seeing some growth and without large-scale commercial poultry operations, the country is forced to rely heavily on chicken imports. Agricultural products like poultry, beef, pork and sugar make up the bulk of Brazilian exports to Angola, accounting for around 70 percent of the US$493 million to total exports to Angola last year. With these new talks, Brazil aims to shift its exports from commodities to technology and investment.
“Angola is positioning itself as a key hub for agricultural development in partnership with Brazil,” Brazil’s ambassador to Angola, Eugênia Barthelmess, said in a government press release on the high-level mission. “By sharing technology and market access, we can meet the region’s food needs – from the Congo to Central and Southern Africa – while driving growth for both nations.”
