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Over 400 Villages in Angola Targeted in 40-Year Catholic Project to Boost Food Production

Credit: Radio Ecclesia

The Catholic Diocese of Luena in Angola a 40-year agroforestry project to tackle the growing challenges of hunger and desertification in the country.

The project dubbed “São Bento Agroforestry Network” aims to boost agricultural production and promote forest conservation across 432 villages in the provinces of Moxico and Moxico Leste, with a long-term vision spanning four decades.

Speaking at the launch of the project on January 17, Bishop Martín Lasarte Topolansky underscored the need for proactive action to tackle the crises that Angola is facing, and urged communities to move beyond lamentation.

“Tree planting will be carried out in each association. The most important thing is to reforest. Plant, plant, plant trees. It’s not enough to cry and complain. We must be proactive, plant, and create. The idea is to prepare this project for 40 years,” Bishop Lasarte said.

He added, “We realized that we still lack the knowledge and support to avoid climate catastrophes and work the land to generate food. That was our motivation.”

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The Uruguayan-born member of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) said that with the project, “We want to make family farming and the environment sustainable.”

Bishop Lasarte explained that the project will initially target 432 identified communities but will remain open to everyone, not just Catholics. 

“This is the starting point. We have references and contacts, but the goal is to address the most pressing needs of our rural communities,” he said.

Bishop Lazarte described the initiative as a pathway to improved livelihoods, saying, “This project is about helping communities live more dignified lives by improving production, selling produce efficiently, and supporting sustainable practices.”

The initiative envisions the creation of cooperatives to unite local farmers and optimize agricultural output. 

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Bishop Lazarte also underscored the cooperative approach’s potential for fostering collective progress. 

“Each community will organize itself with statutes and regulations for cooperative associations. This structure will allow for both individual family farming and communal agricultural efforts, especially to assist the most vulnerable,” he noted.

 “This project is designed to provide lasting answers to agricultural challenges over the next 40 years,” Bishop Lazarte said.

João Vissesse is an Angolan Journalist with a passion and rich experience in Catholic Church Communication and Media Apostolate.