State of Angola's Disastrous Drought

Angola is now in the midst of a disastrous drought.  This is current report just released by the International Red Cross.

Drought is currently affecting 10 coastal and central highland provinces of Angola. Agricultural production has dramatically decreased and increasing water shortages have been reported. It is estimated that agricultural production will decrease by more than 400,000 tons nationally and an estimated 366,780 households (1,833,900 people) will be affected  by food security across the 10 of the 18 provinces.

The rapid assessment conducted by the Angolan National Department of Nutrition in May 2012 confirmed that most of the population, especially in rural areas, is affected by the drought. The total number of acutely malnourished children in the ten affected provinces is currently estimated at 533,000.

The assessment carried out by the Red Cross team confirmed that the situation is serious and requires immediate attention before it escalates out of hand in the coming 3-4 months. In some areas, families are sharing with livestock, few water sources that are also highly contaminated. Consequently, the possibility of outbreak of water related diseases are very high.

The Ministry of Agriculture reported a 60% decrease of average rainfall amount over the planting season resulting in 30% drop in crop production especially of cereals like maize. Total crop failure reported was recorded in some regions especially of bean crops and other drought tolerant tubers. With more than 70% of the population living below the poverty datum line, the impact will be devastating. (ICRC Nov 2012)

Angola's 'Sweet Success'

Surrounded by vast sugar cane fields, with the mysterious Pungo Andongo rocks looming in the background, lies the bright red sugar mill run by the Angola Bioenergy Company (Biocom). Its ambitions are as impressive as its location. 

Biocom, a partnership between Sonangol, Damer and Odebrecht, is currently Angola’s only sugar and ethanol-producing company. Created in 2006, it covers 30,000 hectares in Cacuso, Malange, 1,450 hectares of which are already covered with sugarcane. In the near future, Biocom’s sugarcane will cover 25,000 hectares. Biocom is set to produce a staggering 250,000 tonnes of sugar when the project reaches its maturity. “Angola’s annual market demand exceeds 400,000 tonnes per year,” says a Biocom director during a tour of the plantation and factory, which is still being completed.

The sugar production process takes place in giant tanks immediately in front of Biocom’s storage sheds. “Sugar cane has a lifespan of four to five years,” he says. “In the second phase, Biocom will double the production to 500,000 tons of sugar a year." 


At present, all of Angola’s sugar is currently imported, and demand is increasing due to population growth. According to Biocom, per capita demand in Angola will also rise. It is 12 kilos per person per year now, compared with 50 kilos per person per year in Brazil. As Angola is an emerging economy, per capita demand is expected to soon reach 30 or 40 kilos per year.

Around 70% of Biocom’s sugar cane is turned into sugar. The remaining 30% is used for ethanol and the production of electricity. Electric power is produced by burning sugar cane waste. The vapour released during the process is channelled into a high-pressure turbine.

The energy that is generated as a result can light up a city of up to 400,000 people, Biocom says. Just 40 per cent of Biocom’s energy produced next year will meet Malange’s demand, which means 60 per cent can be sent to the rest of Angola. This percentage will gradually increase.

When the project reaches its maturity, Biocom will be capable of producing 250,000 liters of ethanol a day, which may be used as fuel and also to blend with petrol and diesel. Ethanol has never been used as a fuel before in Angola but is well-established in Brazil, where over 85 per cent of new cars can run on either ethanol or petrol or a combination of the two. (Sonangol Universo Magazine)

A Time of Hunger Predicted

(March 9, Luanda) Angolan agronomist Angolan Fernando Pacheco from ADRA (Action for Rural Development and Environment) is predicting that there will be periods of severe hunger and poverty at the center-south region of Angola as a consequence of prolonged absence and irregularity in rainfall almost throughout the country.   These areas most affected are in the provinces of  Huambo and Bie given that the majority of the local population lives on subsistence farming.

The environmental situation is already creating difficult problems for farmers who live on their own production and experiencing very little profitable return from their crop.

Besides these factors, the agronomist pointed as negative results of the drought as last seasons light rainfall for most of the country, rising unemployment, the breach of contract under the agricultural credit campaign or investment, as well as increased imports of farm products. Another consequence, in the view of the expert, is the emigration of people living in the countryside to the cities, which encourage even more hunger and poverty in certain locations in Angola.

Asked about possible solutions to counteract the current conditions, framework, Pacheco said that "now there is nothing to be done", but the situation requires heavy rains to fall in the near future, because the farmers missed the time to plant alternative crops adaptable to the situation such as corn, sweet potato and cassava. 

Pacheco recommends that increased national attention be given to farmers to assist in the distribution of seed, cars and essential farm implements and serious consideration given to investments in irrigation, though prohibitively expensive. (ANGOP)

Going Bananas!

Bananas are one of the very few things in which Angola is self sufficient. There are thousands of hectares of both dessert and plantain (cooking) banana plantations, mostly in the southern province of Benguela, but they also grow wild up in Uíge.
Bananas, however, are quite difficult to grow commercially on a small scale. They are perishable and fragile, so need to be handled with care. Clumsy transportation can cause blemishes, which is unattractive to customers. Logistical problems such as a lack of good transport, bad roads and a congested port all add to the difficulties of getting high quality fruit into the marketplace, and exportation compounds these challenges.

Because of the high levels of waste, bananas grown in Angola are not cheap. A trial export deal with the South African-based supermarket chain Shoprite failed because the company could import bananas into Angola for less than it was paying for them locally. However, exports could soon become a reality with Angolan bananas being sold in European supermarkets and beyond.

In order to assist in economic development amongst small farms run by individual Angola farmers, efforts have been initiated to grow the banana production on a smaller scale. The Co-operative League of the United States of America (Clusa), thanks to funding from USAID and Chevron, is working with small farm-holders in Benguela to help them increase their yields and to set up co-operatives to boost their buying and selling powers. Banana production in the Benguela area represents about 10 tons per hectare in traditional production, with the commercial farms using modern technology yeild 80 tons per hectare.

“The challenge is to increase the yield,” says Estêvão Rodrigues, Clusa’s Angola representative. “By using better plants, taking better care of them and by moving from flood irrigation to micro-sprinkle irrigation, you can increase yields from 25 tonnes a hectare to 50. I definitely think bananas will do well here, especially if the exporting mechanisms are put in place".

“Once we get the banana sector going, there’s hope for other fruit too, like pineapples and citrus fruit. It’s a big hope.” (Sonangol Universo Magazine)

Cotton Growing Revival: An Interesting Story

Prior to independence in 1975, Angola was one of the largest cotton producers both in Africa and globally. The decimation of the Angolan landscape during the 27 year-long civil war all but destroyed the cotton-growing industry as with most other agricultural industries.

The resurgence in the cotton-growing industry was kickstarted in 2005 by a massive loan agreement of $31.4 million with South Korea's Export-Import Bank to re-launch cotton production in Kwanza Sul province.  The modernization project is only now coming to fruition in 2010 with the completion of construction of irrigation infrastructure for a 5,000 hectare area in the coastal province.  Programs for technical assistance to cotton producers have only recently been ramped up. Though the project will begin in Kwanza Sul Province, it is expected to extend to other traditional cotton producing areas in Malange, Bengo and Benguela provinces and will ultimately employ about 10,000 families.

The initiation and growth of the cotton-growing history in Angola has interesting American roots; from the seeds to missionary involvement - read on! As early as 1820, the Angolan colonial government, ruled by Portugal, tried to promote cotton cultivation by promising to buy all cotton produced in the colony. The raw cotton materials was to be exported to Portugal to supply its burgeoning textile industry.  Under the initiative of the royal government, cotton seeds were acquired from America to distribute to Portuguese farmers in Angola.