Angola bets on artisanal fishing to grow economy
Angola’s artisanal fishing sub sector continues to be the driving force behind the economic and social progress of communities, contributing to food and nutritional security, creating more jobs and raising household incomes, the Minister of Fisheries and from the Sea, Victória de Barros has said.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop on "Participatory Management of Community Cover and Integration", he reported that the Executive is committed to giving greater quality of life to communities dependent on artisanal fishing by investing in infrastructure to support the sector and in training in good practices sanitary conditions for the handling of the fish, which has already brought visible results.
With the investments that are being made in the acquisition of new equipment of cold and in the electrification of the centers will be possible to a better operation of the same.
The project coordinator, Victor Barreto, said that the project, valued at $ 38 million - a financing from the African Development Bank (80 percent of the total cost) and the Angola (20 percent) aims to combat poverty and hunger by building fishing infrastructures, training and sustainable environmental management.
At the moment, four centers are being built to support artisanal fishing (CAPAS), equipped with solar and public energy and cold equipment.
These centers are located in Benguela (Egypt Beach), Cuanza Sul (in the salt flats), Bengo, in the yembe, and in Zaire (Nzeto).
The artisanal fishing sector also has eight centers built in the first phase. These have been rehabilitated and have the prospect of being equipped too, since many find themselves without running due to lack of electricity and cold equipment.
The women of these fishing communities are now making the transformation of the viscera into fish meal in satisfactory hygienic conditions. This activity is having a great success in the communities of Tômbwa, Kikombo and Porto Amboim.
The support project for small-scale fishing is being developed in seven coastal provinces of the country, in order to support the fishing activity along these communities that live mainly from fishing.
The project started in 2014 plans to end in June 2019.
One of the main problems of fishing communities, according to Victor Barreto, is related to the lack of support infrastructures, hygiene and some fishing artifacts.
At the meeting, experts in the sector will look at how long-term the transfer of management of these infrastructures to organized community groups that can establish lasting partnerships for their management.
