Angola’s minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, Afonso Pedro Canga, on Thursday inaugurated in the southern Benguela province, a Centre of Support to Artisan Fishing, meant to supply technical assistance to fishermen in light of the Programme of Rural Development and Combat to Poverty.
Located in Caota village, south-west of the city of Benguela, the facility has a classroom for 50 students, a cold-storage container for 3,000 kilogrammes of fish, and another meant for producing five tonnes of ice per day, apart from fish processing areas.
The centre, with its construction supervised by the Artisan Fishing Development Project, with the funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), will benefit 1,000 artisan fishermen and other 1,500 women fish-sellers of that region.
Minister Afonso Pedro Canga told the press that with the inauguration of the centre, the government wishes to supply a continuous technical and academic (literacy) assistance to artisan fishermen, especially to women dedicated to fish processing, so as to improve the conditions of their activities.
The official also stressed that the facility will also grant basic professional fisheries training to artisan fishermen, besides literacy lessons meant for fishermen and their families.
Meanwhile, the acting provincial governor of Benguela, Agostinho Estêvão Felizardo, and the district administrator of Benguela, Leopoldo Muhongo, witnessed the centre’s inauguration ceremony.
2012 AllAfrica