MBANZA KONGO, Angola, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is assisting Angola in transforming agriculture in the country, FAO representative in Angola, Gherda Barreto said here Thursday.
The FAO official was speaking in Mbanza Kongo city, Zaire province, at the closing session of a training program for 50 cooperatives under a national initiative.
In partnership with the country's Ministry of Economy and Planning, the FAO is assisting in training producers in good production practices, enabling the transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture in order to raise living standards among farmers.
"Agriculture is an activity open to everyone and that helps rural and local development," Barreto said.
Angola's Ministry of Economy and Planning, in partnership with the FAO, has launched an initiative called Agro Prodesi to bolster agribusiness and technological innovation in prioritized value chains.
Valued at 1 million U.S. dollars, Agro Prodesi benefits 600 economic agents across the country's 18 provinces, while in Zaire it involves 50 agricultural cooperatives working in the cassava, banana and citrus value chains, according to the ministry. Enditem