Ucuma - Forty-three million, one hundred and eighty three thousand and four hundred and thirty seven Kwanzas (US $66.6K equivalent) were made available this Friday by the World Bank (WB), to 190 field schools in the central province of Huambo, to increase production and diversify crops.
The symbolic delivery of the values to the beneficiaries took place in the municipality of Ucuma, within the scope of the Family Agriculture and Marketing Project (Mosap II), carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, through IDA (Agrarian Development Institute).
The project focuses on the farming schools implemented in four of the 11 municipalities in the province of Huambo, namely Chicala-Cholohanga, Chinjenje, Longonjo and Ucuma.
Farming schools (field) are spaces for training small farmers on improved cultivation practices, modern agricultural technology, improving soil fertility and integrated nutrient management, business management, among other aspects.
On the occasion, the representative of the municipality of Ucuma, Hermenegildo Chilemo Raul, said that this is a very commendable initiative, as it increases the financial autonomy of farming schools and, thereby, raises the levels of agricultural production.
This financial support, according to the official, will make it possible for peasant families to purchase more agricultural inputs and educational material, for their training on improved agricultural practices and other topics.
The head of the IDA department in Huambo Province, Victorino Chonguela, said that the project aims, above all, to enhance family production, in order to achieve food self-sufficiency and combat poverty.
He said that the 190 field schools, out of a universe of 4,275 small farmers, find in this World Bank financing the opportunity to diversify their agricultural production.
