According to the Angola Particle Board Group, the seedling factory project aims to provide a solution for the recovery, reforestation and development of the Angolan agroforestry sector.
The seedling factory project, a private investment in Malanje, Angola, aimed at reforestation, estimated at US$3 million (2.7 million euros), should start at the end of this year, an official from the company said on Tuesday. company.
The information was provided by the managing partner of the Angola Agglomerate Group (APB), Carlos Padre, on the sidelines of the International Conference on Renewable Energies and Clean Development Mechanisms, promoted by the Angolan company Eco-Eficiência, specialized in environmental consulting.
Carlos Padre highlighted that the objective of the project is to provide a solution for the recovery, reforestation and development of the Angolan agroforestry sector, noting that, like other countries in the world, Angola has also suffered environmental degradation due to population growth and the increased activities. hunting, mining and industrial.
According to the businessman, the factory makes exotic forest seedlings, that is, eucalyptus and fruit trees, and then native seedlings, It is a first step to be able to create plants through seeds and cloning techniquesand in a second phase for reforestation.
“We have had the idea for more than five years, we are in a very tough fight,” stressed Carlos Sr., highlighting the difficulties of financing the project, due to the need to present guarantees.
“We found, for example, (…) difficulties to be able to legalize, to have the complete registration of the properties in the conservatories, because the banks, in order to finance, require guarantees. We need to be in legal form to be able to receive these financings”, he explained. Carlos Padre called for greater sensitivity on the part of the international community and governments to support initiatives of this type.
“With our project we are trying to do something that can change the situation, because we know that we have serious problems in terms of climate change, mainly in the south of Angola. The causes have been identified, the problems must be attacked, ”he added.
For the businessman, this forum is a good initiative, but “it is too late”, pointing to the example of Brazil, which for more than 15 years has been addressing issues of environmental protection.
“There, fortunately, many actions have already been taken, for example, on this issue of carbon credits, many companies benefit from carbon credits and we didn’t even get there,” he said.
The factory has an area of 5,843 hectares and is located in the Capanda Agroindustrial Pole, in an investment of more than six million dollars (5.5 million euros), including the plantation.
“This year, we are in a position to start manufacturing seedlings and that always depends on financing. This country will only develop when there is a financing vein that mainly serves the actors who are on the ground, who are doing everything possible to change the current situation of our economy, ”he stressed.
The project is financed by the Development Bank of Angola (BDA), in a first phase, and “has some sensitivity on the part of United Nations agencies”, especially to finance the plantation, said the official.
Source: Observadora
