Angolan agribusiness group Fazenda Agropecuária Nelson Rodrigues (NR) and Chinese multinational Rainbow Agro have jointly launched a new pesticide targeting whitefly infestations that have been causing significant losses to Angola’s tomato producers, with the product unveiled on Saturday in the province of Benguela.
The product, named Upaxial+ Colam, was presented at the second edition of Fazenda NR’s Dia de Campo — a field day that brought together approximately 150 farmers from the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Huíla and Luanda to receive demonstrations of new crop-protection technologies and phytosanitary practices.
The strategic partnership between Fazenda NR and Rainbow Agro is aimed at boosting domestic agricultural output and ensuring a steady supply of raw material to a recently inaugurated tomato processing plant located at Dombe Grande, in Benguela province.
Speaking to journalists at the event, Nélson Rodrigues, chief executive officer of Grupo NR, said the initiative was designed to encourage farmers to adopt the latest technological solutions to counter losses caused by pest damage.
Rodrigues said the persistent whitefly infestation continues to compromise tomato harvests substantially, largely because of a lack of awareness among growers about the proper use of insecticides and crop-monitoring techniques.
“The objective is to prevent farmers from continuing to lose money through ignorance. We have gathered producers here to present new techniques and products that will allow them to better protect their crops and raise productivity,” he said.
Rodrigues announced that the new pesticide will be available from Monday at Casa do Agricultor retail outlets, which are owned by the group, and assured that pricing would be accessible to smallholder and commercial producers alike.
In practical terms, he explained that one litre of the product is expected to retail at between 8,000 and 12,000 kwanzas and is sufficient to prepare roughly 1,000 litres of water — enough to spray approximately one hectare of cultivated land.
Rodrigues argued that the investment represents a favourable cost-benefit ratio, as timely pest control reduces crop losses and improves overall production levels.
He added that strengthening technical assistance to farmers would be essential to guarantee a quality supply of raw material for the new industrial tomato processing unit installed at Dombe Grande.
“It is not enough for two or three farmers to produce tomatoes to supply the factory. We need the entire community to produce with quality, and for that it is essential to provide information and technology,” he said.
Klaus Gunther Urban, a Brazilian engineer serving as Rainbow Agro’s general director in Angola, said the partnership with Fazenda NR seeks to create a permanent platform for exchange between specialists and producers to address the main challenges facing the national agriculture sector.
Urban explained that Upaxial was developed to complement existing pest-control solutions, offering high efficacy against the whitefly, which multiplies rapidly and represents one of the most serious threats to horticultural crops.
He noted that the whitefly has a reproductive cycle of approximately 18 to 30 days and that each female can lay between 100 and 300 eggs, enabling rapid proliferation in the absence of adequate control measures.
“The product was developed after several seasons of observation, during which we identified a significant gap in controlling this pest. It is an additional tool to reduce the whitefly population and improve crop productivity,” Urban said.
Urban stressed that the insecticide is not exclusively intended for tomatoes, and can equally be applied to onions, peppers, beans and other horticultural crops grown in the Dombe Grande region.
He cautioned, however, that use of the product must comply with technical guidelines to avoid the development of pest resistance to the active ingredients.
Urban recommended that farmers apply the product a maximum of two times on the same crop, subsequently alternating with insecticides based on different active molecules to preserve efficacy.
With five farms located in the municipality of Dombe Grande, Fazenda NR has consolidated its position as the country’s largest bean producer, a standing it has reinforced year on year.
Rainbow Agro, for its part, is China’s largest pesticide exporter and the tenth-largest company globally in the sector, with production facilities in China, Spain, Argentina and the United States, and operations spanning approximately 120 countries.
Source: ANGOP / Original article: https://www.angop.ao/noticias/agricultura/fazenda-nr-e-rainbow-lancam-pesticida-para-combate-a-mosca-branca/
