A
total of 60,000 Angolan rural households in Cuanza Sul and Huila provinces will
benefit from a financial agreement, signed today between the International Fund
for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Angola, that will generate revenue and
boost food and nutrition security of poorer households. The project will
increase smallholder agriculture productivity, production and marketing for
selected crops and will place a special focus on women and young people.
The
financing agreement for the Smallholder Agriculture Development and
Commercialization Project in Cuanza Sul and Huila Provinces (SADCP-CH) was
signed in Rome by Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, and Florêncio Mariano
da Conceição de Almeida, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Angola to
IFAD.
The
total cost of the project is US$38.2 million, including a $28.8 million loan
from IFAD. The project will be cofinanced by the Government of Angola ($8.2
million) and by the beneficiaries themselves ($1.1 million).
During
Angola’s 26-year civil war, the agriculture sector was devastated and
productivity plummeted. Due to instability, many smallholder farmers reverted
to subsistence farming to feed their families. What minimal surplus they had,
they sold in local markets. SADCP-CH will help subsistence farmers increase
agricultural production and productivity through improved agricultural
practices and technologies. Farmer field schools will strengthen the skills of
smallholders and their organizations.
With
most agriculture in the region dependent on rainfall, SADCP-CH will also
enhance access to water and more efficient water use. It will develop
small-scale irrigation systems, focussing on the rehabilitation of existing
schemes that cover about 500 hectares in the project area.
Support
will be provided to farmers’ organizations to promote climate resilient
agriculture for key priority food and horticultural crops, while working to
promote investments aimed at reducing post-harvest losses and strengthening
market linkages.
For
example, the project will pilot and promote low-cost technologies for storage
and processing of perishable products. This will help farmers capitalize on the
market, rather than being subject to opportunistic traders that are well aware
of product perishability. The expectation is that the increased demand for
goods and services in rural areas will spur the creation of non-farm jobs, in
particular for the young people.
Since
1991, IFAD has financed six rural development programmes and projects in Angola
for a total cost of $139.7 million, with an IFAD investment of $76.0 million
directly benefiting 261,600 rural households.
