Angolan mission to agricultural giant The Netherlands
Ten leading Angolan agricultural investors will visit The Netherlands from 19 to 21 June. The mission to the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter fits into Angola’s prime goal to diversify the Angolan economy.
By Lula Ahrens
The three-day Angolan agricultural mission to The Netherlands, the first of its kind, is an initiative of the Dutch Embassy in Luanda to promote bilateral agricultural trade and investment. Despite its geographical size, the Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural food products after the United States.
“Over the past years, a series of Dutch agricultural visits have taken place to Angola to promote mutually beneficial cooperation. As a follow up, we have now invited influential Angolan public and private stakeholders to the Netherlands to showcase Dutch innovation and solutions in agribusiness. We believe that seeing is believing,” said the 1st Secretary of the Dutch Embassy in Luanda, Mrs. Lydia Brons.
Dutch agronomists repeatedly visited the provinces of Huambo and Kwanza Sul on expert missions. Their analysis of the regions’ agricultural sector pinpointed the provinces’ agricultural stakeholders. Those influencers, which include the main representatives of Tchissola Farm, GAM, Nuviagro, Pomobel, Valoeste Group, Novagrolider, Santo Antonio Farm, will now board a plane to study and explore Dutch agriculture.
“Angola’s current economic crisis has prompted the government to view agriculture as a future engine of economic growth, and to decrease the country’s dependency on oil. The Dutch Embassy believes that now is the time to turn theory and preparation into practice,” said Mrs Brons.
The mission will focus on technology and innovation
The mission will focus on technology, innovation, know-how and high-quality products suitable for the African market. It will cover turn-key concepts for horticulture as well as dairy and potato production.
After their official welcome on Monday 19 June, the participants will visit the world’s number one agricultural research institute, Wageningen University, which has a cooperation agreement on capacity building in geo-data use for agricultural development in Angola with University José Eduardo dos Santos in Huambo.
The remainder of the program includes visits to greenhouse farms and exploration of a broad scope of technical solutions in agriculture, with a clear focus on innovation. Horticulture will take center stage on Monday, dairy production on Tuesday and potato cultivation on Wednesday.