Biocom, a Cochan group company obtains an international certificate of quality for its agricultural laboratory
- Biocom’s agricultural laboratory obtained a quality certificate from one of the world’s most renowned institutes.
- Biocom was the only African company to participate in the programme of the Agronomic Institute of Campinas in Brazil, and was placed fifth out of 131 laboratories.
The Agricultural Laboratory of Biocom, the only Angolan company producing and commercialising sugar, ethanol and electric energy from biomass, received an international certificate of quality awarded by the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (Instituto Agronómico de Campinas – IAC), in Brazil, one of the world’s most renowned in the field of agriculture.
This Cochan group company, one of the largest economic groups in Angola, was the only African company to participate in the quality control programme of the IAC and was placed 5th out of 131 laboratories.
Reacting to the news, Cochan’s president, Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento, declared “This achievement is a reward for Biocom’s and Cochan’s investment in research and development, and in the training of their staff”. He added, “I am proud of the work that Cochan has doing to diversify the Angolan economy. We believe that investment must be a positive agent for change and a beneficial force for society.”
For the head of Biocom’s Laboratory, Anderson Luiz dos Santos, “the result justly rewards the everyday work of training, tests, simulations and evaluations”. The manager also stressed that 97% of the staff in Biocom’s Agricultural Laboratory are Angolan nationals, most of them young and recently qualified.
Running for the last 34 years, the IAC programme evaluates and certifies the capacity of laboratories for analysis, and guarantees high standards of quality for their processes. Annually, each participating laboratory receives 20 soil samples, from which it analyses 408 elements in all.
Through analysis of the soil, its chemical fertility can be assessed. With the results obtained, it is possible to determine the quantities of lime and fertilizer appropriate to improve the productivity of crops, in a technically correct and economically viable way, avoiding unnecessary costs.
Biocom’s Agricultural Laboratory is equipped with high technology and precision equipment. It carries out analyses of plant matter (foliar), organic fertilizer, mineral fertilizer, gypsum, lime, stillage and filter cake, as well as agronomic advisory services, in other words, suggesting dosages of correctives and fertilizers for the various crops to be planted.
About Biocom
Biocom represents the largest private investment in Angola outside of the oil sector, and plays an important role in domestic development. The company is the result of a joint venture between three Angolan companies: Cochan (40%): One of the largest economic groups in the country, which manages a diversified portfolio in the fields of agriculture, distribution, energy, real estate, industry, and transport and logistics; Odebrecht Angola (40%): An Angolan company that operates in the fields of engineering, agriculture, mining and civil construction; and Sonangol Holdings (20%): An Angolan State Company in the oil sector whose main objective is prospecting, research, development, production, transport, commercialisation, refining and transformation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons and their derivatives, including petrochemical activities.
About the Cochan Group
Cochan is one of the largest economic groups in the country. Founded in 2009 by businessman Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento, the group manages a diversified portfolio in the fields of agriculture, distribution, energy, real estate, industry, and transport and logistics groups in Angola. Its aim is to contribute to the diversification of the Angolan economy through a policy of positive investment and the growth of successful businesses, based on a sustainable and responsible approach. The businesses it has a stake in currently employ more than 10,000 people.