Angola and Italy to close agro-food deal

(AGI) Luanda, Dec. 16 - Angola and Italy will close amemorandum of intent next January for the development of theagro-food sector, announced in Luanda Luigi Scordamaglia,president of Federalimentare, the food production federation ofthe Italian employers' association, Confindustria. Thecooperation with Angola is "strategic and a priority", MrScordamaglia told Angop, the Angolan press agency, in aninterview, stressing that "Angola's agricultural potential isenormous thanks to the vast extent of arable land andavailability of water, especially in some of the country'sregions". He recalled that Italy's is an efficient foodprocessing model, which is both sustainable, has a lowenvironmental impact and is based on state-of-the-arttechnology. This is why, he explained, the merging of the twosystems will upgrade Angolan agricultural production with atwo-fold result: first, increasing the country's foodself-sufficiency and, second, reducing imports, transformingthe country into an exporter of agricultural products to therest of the African continent and beyond. Luigi Scordamagliaemphasised that large Italian industries play a vital role inevery production phase of the food cycle while small andmedium-sized companies are positioned to contribute elements ofexcellence and expertise in the different phases, incollaboration with Angolan companies. (AGI) . .