Huambo – The Angolan minister of Agriculture, Rural Development of Fisheries, Afonso Pedro Canga, Friday in central Huambo province considered scientific research as a continuous and permanent process of search of knowledge and solutions to difficult and complex problems facing the society, is a development cornerstone.

The minister was speaking at the closing of the first agrarian scientific research events hed from July 25-26 in Huambo city..

He said the solution problems of food in a sustainable way requires researching capacity for natural phenomena and events that interfere with the productive process and hinder the productivity of species and their quality.

In today's world, according to Afonso Canga, scientific knowledge is considered the first wealth of a nation, adding that taking care of this knowledge is a form of government and development should be seen as a collective concern.

 
He said that the increasing needs for growing populations in search of more material goods, especially food, is a great challenge for scientists who have the responsibility to create innovative and more efficient technologies, without endangering the health of ecosystems and consumers.

 
For this challenge, the minister said, it was the duty of researchers always to seek for excellence, thus introducing innovations in the production systems,  and always with the feeling that their knowledge is still insufficient.

 
He noted that the generation of knowledge should be considered investment with a guaranteed return over a medium to long term, since for the Angolan government, led by the President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, prioritises the training of highly qualified personnel and scientific research is the first place in the policy and strategy for social and economic development.

 
In this context, the minister Afonso Canga stressed that, as a result, concerning research in the country, the Executive is developing a major programme of restructuring the system and appropriate focus on staff training at bachelor, master and doctoral degree levels in the country and abroad.

 
"It was also given special attention to the construction and equipping of infrastructures to create better conditions for research workers and their families," he said, adding also the rehabilitation of old units and institutes in order to respond to our needs and a world of constant and rapid change.

 
According to the minister, there is need for continued work and publication of all jobs with the highest quality in order to share knowledge and make them available to the academic body, in line with the rules of scientific research.
 

He also advocated for the need to define conditions for researchers, such as reward, in order to encourage the Angolan youths to invest in the field of scientific research starting from the basis, with sacrifice and determination.

The meeting was attended by researchers and experts from national institutions and international partners, including the University of Valencia (Spain), the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Mozambique and the Technical University of Lisbon (Portugal), and National Institutes of Agricultural Research (IIA) and Veterinary Research (IIV).

The workshop was intended to promote discussions on the creation, adaptation and application of technologies for increasing production and productivity.