Deputy Secretary Torres Small traveled to Southern Africa this week to explore trade opportunities in Angola and visit USDA projects in Mozambique. Leading the first-ever agribusiness trade mission to Luanda, Angola, the Deputy Secretary was accompanied by representatives from the Kansas and Wisconsin departments of agriculture, and 16 U.S. companies and organizations.
Market diversification is an important tool for maximizing growth opportunities for U.S. agriculture, as well to hedge the risk of market contraction and general volatility in the global marketplace. That’s why Africa was a target market for USDA’s first round of Regional Agricultural Promotion Program applications, which opened in November 2023.
During the trip, the U.S. delegation met with government officials and potential buyers from Angola, as well as from neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo. They also toured food storage and grocery facilities and participated in cooking demonstrations of traditional Angolan foods.
In Maputo, Mozambique, Deputy Secretary Torres Small visited Mungazine Primary School, a USDA-supported school and school garden through the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. The Deputy Secretary met with Mozambique Minister of Education Carmelita Rita Namashulua, along with representatives from Counterpart International, school staff, students, and community leaders to help celebrate African Day of School Feeding, a day observed across the continent as a way for African countries to commit to and promote school feeding as a strategy to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.
Additionally, Deputy Secretary Torres Small visited a USDA Forest Service and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) site where land management experts and local partners are working together to restore mangroves.
