(Ecofin Agency) - In Angola, all efforts seem to be put into developing agriculture. Indeed, the Angola Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSDEA) just announced an investment of $250 million to develop seven large farms.

The farms will be situated in the provinces of Bié, Cunene, Malanje, Moxico, Kuando Kubango, Uige and Zaire. The fund in a statement said they will extend over 72,000 hectares which will be allocated by the ministry of agriculture. They will produce cereals, oilseeds and rice especially, both for local consumption and for export.

“Because agriculture employs more than half of the Angolan population, financing this sector can increase producers’ incomes and support the emergence of new opportunities for the private sector in the food chain,” said the president of FSDEA, José Filomeno dos Santos

The sovereign fund which has a capital of $5 billion has already invested about 4.56 billion in Africa and Europe as well as in bills and shares of various companies.

The global drop in oil prices has pushed Angola and other African oil producers to look out for revenues sources, and agriculture has been recording a particularly rising interest.

Aaron Akinocho