The government of Angola has proposed to representatives of international organisations an increase in funding for agricultural programmes under the National Development Plan, the Ministry for Agriculture said in a statement.

The statement, quoted by newspaper Jornal de Angola, also said that Afonso Canga, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Amaro Tati, Secretary of State for Agriculture, met with representatives of United Nations agencies, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the European Union.

At the meeting, the representatives of the international organisations defined future cooperation strategies with the government of Angola, pointing to priority projects for which they wish to strengthen services and start new partnerships, added the report.

These projects include the strengthening of animal health services, the resumption of the information system linked to the response mechanism on food and nutrition security, strengthening institutional competences, training human resources and providing assistance to small producers.

According to the statement, the World Bank announced that a US$250 million package would be available for the agricultural sector in Angola this year.