The Instituto de Investigação Agronómica (IIA) of Angola, led by the Director General, Dr João da Costa Neto, held a ceremony of laying the first foundation stone on the 27th of October 2023 in Malanje to mark the commencement of construction of the Cassava Regional Centre of Leadership (RCoL). The RCoL construction is one of the major deliverables for Angola under the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA).
APPSA is a six-year World Bank funded initiative supporting Angola and Lesotho to establish RCoLs in Cassava and Horticulture, respectively and overseen by the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern African (CCARDESA).
According to Dr Neto, who was speaking on behalf of the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Engineer António Francisco de Assis, Angola has no option but to move with utmost speed in order to complete the structure, which is expected to take not more than six months to complete. The Head of the Cassava RCoL and Senior Scientist at IIA, Dr Moniz Mutunda, added that in as much as cassava is the flagship commodity for APPSA-Angola, the Cassava RCoL will continue to conduct scientific trials on other commodities such as cereals, vegetables, and legumes, among others. The sole purpose of the RCoL is to generate improved technologies and knowledge to benefit Angola and the rest of the SADC region.
The Contractor (STECOL CORPORATION) and Design & Supervision Firm (DAR/CONSULGAR) have both committed to complete the works within the agreed deadline despite the tight schedule. The works will include construction of an administrative block, laboratories for Biotechnology, Phytosanitary and Food Technology, some residential houses, a water treatment plant, a meteorological station, green houses, an irrigation system, access road and fencing.
