In many rural areas of Angola, decimated or
degraded after almost thirty years of war, people
are just beginning to resettle and re-establish
small farms in a country that was virtually selfsufficient
in food under the Portuguese colonial
rule so long ago.
In its heyday, Angola was a major exporter of
coffee and cotton. Today displaced persons and
refugees return to lands dotted with minefields and
towns destroyed by war. Hundreds of thousands
are still dependent on food aid. For farmers like
those in Humpata, Huila province, and in Dungo,
Bengo province, a little bit of help accessing
quality seeds could make all the difference in
maintaining food security and producing enough to
market. But who would risk giving credit to
farmers in a weak agricultural economy, barely
recovering from decades of war?
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farmers. Groups comprised of over
500 farmers collectively received potato seed,
fertilizer, water pumps and pipes for irrigation,
pesticides, and sprayers, valued at $231,779.
After three loan cycles, repayment rates averaged
about 98.5%. Since USAID pays for
administrative costs, Banco Sol can afford to give
farmers a 10% annual interest rate – affordable in
most cases despite high inflation.
USAID strategy seeks to promote more market oriented
interventions by helping war-affected
populations bring themselves closer to self sufficiency.
USAID is helping subsistence
farmers to achieve more surplus production, and
smallholder farmers to revitalize their capacity to
capture a larger share of the Angolan market.
To accomplish this, USAID encourages a market oriented
approach with the aim to reduce
dependency on food aid and donor-funded
programs, and increase producer access to
markets. The farmers participating in the CLUSA
program have started to break the cycle of the
Luanda-based markets’ dependence on imported
potatoes. Buyers are pleased with the quality of
potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes, and bell
peppers coming from the small farms assisted by
USAID-funded advisors.
Through the credit from Banco Sol, farmers from
Humpata were able to access improved seed,
irrigation equipment, fertilizer, and pesticides which
resulted in producing and marketing of 278,857
metric tons of potatoes, about 2,000 metric tons of
carrots, and several tons of leafy vegetables. They
earned $229,852 gross or $79,112 net after
repaying their loans with the interest. With
$213,000 more in credit agreements signed with
Banco Sol, farmers are getting the seeds and
irrigation supplies they need to boost production
and meet demands of the peacetime markets.
“This was the first time Banco Sol or any Angolan
bank has given credit to small-scale farmers,” said
Sergio Lavrador, the Banco Sol administrator. “We
are looking forward to more successes.”
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