Africa > Central Africa > Angola > Angola grants 7,000 hectares of land to Cabo Verde

Angola: Angola grants 7,000 hectares of land to Cabo Verde

2015/11/21

The government of Angola granted a plot of 7,000 hectares in Kwanza Sul province to Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) for agricultural development, said Thursday the Cape Verdean ambassador to Angola, Francisco Veiga.

The ambassador, at the end of a courtesy visit to the governor of Kwanza Sul, Eusébio de Brito Teixeira, said the government would presently consider what to produce on the land but said that maize production from improved seeds was one of the priority crops.

“The Ministries of Rural Development and Finance and Planning are by presently examining this file, so that the government can decide what will be produced in those 7,000 hectares,” said the ambassador quoted by Angolan news agency Angop.

Veiga and the governor of Kwanza Sul reviewed the cooperation project between the two nations, particularly a twinning agreement between the cities of Praia and Sumbe, where a rural village will be established to set up Cape Verdean families that will work in agriculture and livestock.

Cabo Verde is by presently producing food abroad, specifically in Paraguay, where the government, in partnership with agricultural engineer Adriano Bettencourt Pinto, in 1996 bought a plot of 10,000 hectares, which mainly produces rice, corn, wheat and soy.

The land, purchased from a private owner for US$1.129 million, was 80 % owned by the Cape Verdean national and the remaining 20 % by the agricultural engineer, from presently on ending up in private hands, following the “privatisation of the National Supply Company (EMPA) and the political indecision of the time,” according to Adriano Pinto.

The land is known as the Ilha Verde (Green Island) and widely considered to be the 11th island of Cabo Verde, with the initial shipment of 15,000 tons of corn reaching the archipelago in November 2013.

Related Articles

What Are Angolans Expecting From New Leader?
2017/09/11 As the presidential electoral results in Kenya were being overturned last week by the country's highest court, the post-election crisis in Angola continued to deepen. The opposition lacks legal avenues for recourse and the government is scrambling to hide its crisis of legitimacy. The 23 August elections marked a turning point in the country's political order. It is the biggest challenge the governing People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) has faced since the end of the war in 2002 at the same time as it installed a system of unchecked and unchallenged hegemony.
Congo's Sassou hails retiring dos Santos for service to Africa
2017/09/10 Outgoing Angolan president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has received praise from his Congolese counterpart, Denis Sassou Nguesso, the ruling MPLA have said. A message accompanying a photo posted on the MPLA’s Twitter handle read: “President Dennis Sassou Nguesso pays homage to José Eduardo dos Santos, for his deeds for peace in Africa.” Dos Santos, 75, bows out as president next 38 years in charge of the former Portuguese colony. He is set to be restored by his former Defense Minister, Joao Lourenco, who led the ruling MPLA into the last elections.
Angolan opposition parties formally challenge election results in court
2017/09/10 Three out of the five Angolan opposition parties that contested in the August 23 elections have filed formal appeals at the Constitutional Court demanding the annulment of the results that secured massive victory for the ruling MPLA party. The three parties, inclunding the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the FNLA and the PRS, filed their petitions on Friday alleging widespread irregularities, AFP reports.
Submarine cable deployed in Angola to link Africa to South America
2017/09/09 The project of deploying the initial submarine telecommunication cable in the South Atlantic ocean linking Africa to South America has been launched in Angola’s capital Luanda. The launch of the fibre-optic South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) follows months of marine survey that was completed by multinational telecommunications company Angola Cables in April.
UNWTO: International tourism – strongest half-year results since 2010
2017/09/09 Destinations worldwide welcomed 598 million international tourists in the initial six months of 2017, some 36 million additional than in the same period of 2016. At 6%, increase was well above the trend of recent years, making the current January-June period the strongest half-year since 2010. Visitor numbers reported by destinations around the world reflect strong request for international travel in the initial half of 2017, according to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Worldwide, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 6% compared to the same six-month period last year, well above the sustained and consistent trend of 4% or higher increase since 2010. This represents the strongest half-year in seven years.