Ndalatando: The provincial department of the National Coffee Institute (INCA) in Cuanza-Norte has prepared 600,400 coffee seedlings for distribution to local producers as part of strategies to revitalize production. According to Angola Press News Agency, Cesaltina Agostinho, the head of INCA's provincial department, explained that the strategy includes a Generative and Vegetative Seedling Production Center located at Kilombo Botanical Garden in Ndalatando. This center, funded by the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (PDAC), has the capability to reproduce over 150,000 seedlings, including 39,600 generative seedlings across four available spaces, along with nurseries dedicated to vegetative seedlings. In addition, the municipality of Golungo Alto houses 450,000 seedlings created under the Revitalization and Strengthening of Coffee Production in Angola (MUKAFE) project. These seedlings have already begun being distributed to producers in the area. The initiative aims to expand coffee production acro ss all 17 municipalities of the province, with a particular focus on Lucala, where large scale planting is expected in irrigated areas such as Cacala, 'Coreia I and II'. INCA is optimistic about achieving successful harvests in new regions of the province, leveraging the adaptability of Robusta and Cazengo coffee species to the local climate. The province currently oversees 634 producers who last year harvested 710 tons of coffee, which was entirely sold in response to high national demand. The current market offers attractive prices for coffee, with mabuba coffee (still with the husk) priced at 1,500 kwanzas per kilogram and commercial coffee at 3,000 kwanzas per kilogram. There is notable interest among local peasants to resume production, motivated by these prices. Quiculungo and Ambaca municipalities are highlighted as leading regions in terms of the number of producers and the success of the coffee harvest, with significant involvement from young farmers. Cesaltina Agostinho also noted that INCA in C uanza-Norte is committed to enhancing support for coffee growers by promoting the adoption of updated cultivation techniques, aimed at continuously increasing production. The province, historically a major export market for coffee before National Independence, holds significant potential in coffee production.
