Angola’s 18 provinces have been granted greater autonomy by the government and their governors are seeking to boost agriculture to obtain self-sufficiency
here
is potential for development and investment throughout the 18 provinces
of Angola. Carlos Maria Feijo, adviser of the president for territorial
administration, advocates greater incentives for foreigners investing
in “the most difficult areas, rather than the capital, Luanda,
so we can have equilibrium in the country”.
The coastal region of Angola – which includes the provinces of
Zaire, Luanda, Bengo, Kwanza
Sul, Benguela, Namibe
and the enclave of Cabinda – has been given high-priority status
for development in agriculture, tourism and industry.
Others, such as Kwanza Norte, Huambo,
Uige, Bie and Malanje, are
medium-term priorities. Meanwhile the easternmost and largest provinces
of Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul,
Moxico and Kuanda Kubango, to which most goods are supplied by air,
will take considerably longer to join in the slowly reviving economic
life of the country.
The government has devolved greater powers to the provinces. Minister
of territorial administration Fernando Faustino Muteka says: “The
daily life, development and fulfilment of the state’s policies
are exercised by the governors under the supervision of the
ministry. The government has approved agricultural programmes for all
provinces. We transfer the money to the provincial governors who are
developing production activities.
“Provinces such as Uige, Bengo, Kwanza Norte and Kwanza Sul could
produce coffee when there is total peace. To those interested in producing
coffee, we will give the land that has been left without anybody working
on it,” he says.
The province of Cunene rears cattle and goats and produces a lot of
sorghum, whereas Huila, whose infrastructure has been less devastated,
has the capacity to grow a variety of crops.
Benguela is an important producer of fruit, sugar cane and maize, while
cassava and maize are vital crops in Malanje. Namibe has the potential
to vastly improve its fishing industry, while timber is a valuable export
in Cabinda and rice could be grown in greater quantities in both Bie
and Kuanda Kubango.
The
coastal region has been given high-priority status
| Namibe | Uige | Huambo | Lunda Norte | Bengo | Zaire | Lunda Sul |
|
||
 |
he
province of Benguela benefits from its petroleum resources as well
as a relatively well-developed agriculture and fisheries sector. There
are around 50 farmers’ associations and many agrarian projects
are being implemented by non-governmental organisations.
Benguela’s governor, Dumilde das
Chagas Simoes Rangel, says: “In future we intend
to consolidate the fisheries sector so that we can have more organised
sales operations and better production, because our products are often
sold below production costs. We will determine a reliable price so
that we can protect our national producers.”
The governor is determined that: “The agricultural sector and
the development of livestock will be the motor of our economy.”
Petroleum
and industrial projects are planned for the province, including a
4,000-hectare site intended for an oil refinery and small industries
to support it. The rehabilitation of a sugar factory, the cement industry
and the port of Lobito are also on the drawing board, along with infrastructure
improvements and plans to invest in hotels and tourism.
Mr Rangel says: “This province is rich in beaches, nature parks
and museums. We are investing in hotel construction and tourist facilities.”
The government established the Fenix fund to develop Benguela in collaboration
with Portugal. It is open to all foreign investors and Mr Rangel says
there has already been interest from Britain, Spain and the US.
“With this fund we will help small and medium-sized enterprises
to transform so that, eventually, we will be able to avoid the need
to import some products.”
Rehabilitation of the railways is also under way, with the aim of
connecting the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Moxico and Bie, as well
as developing the link to Namibe and on to South Africa.
| Benguela | Uige | Huambo | Lunda Norte | Bengo | Zaire | Lunda Sul |
|
||
|
early half the size of England with
a population of just 255,000, Namibe is a southern province bordering
the Atlantic Ocean and Namibia. In addition to its beaches, extraordinary
rock formations can be found in the desert and a wide variety of wildlife
in the national park of Iona. The Cunene is the only river that flows
throughout the year in this region.
According to Namibe’s governor, Salomao
Xirimbimbi: “Although Namibe was not affected
by the war, development was limited. Now the president has defined
a strategy for the rehabilitation and development of each province.”
This runs until 2004 and one of its top priorities for arid Namibe
is irrigation and supplying water to towns and villages.
The
province is the third largest for cattle rearing and is the main goat
and poultry producer. Mr Xirimbimbi adds: “We are the only province
in Angola that produces grapes and olives, and we also grow tomatoes,
cabbages, carrots, lettuce, onions, sweet potatoes and cassava.”
Fishermen work in the rich waters off Namibe’s coast, where 65
per cent of Angola’s catches are made, but the fishing industry
has slumped and requires rehabilitation. Fishmeal would solve the
problem of cattle feed, he says.
Namibe has mineral resources, such as copper, tin, marble and quartz,
and there is a possibility that diamonds could also be found in the
province, while oil may lie beneath its offshore waters.
Namibe is one of the most accessible of the Angolan provinces. “We
have enormous potential in tourism,” he says. “We have beautiful
panoramas and flora that is unique to the world, such as the curious
desert plant Welwitschia Mirabilis, which is found only in the desert
of Namibe.
“We have nice beaches and the waters off Namibe are the best
off the West Coast. We have facilities for water sports and for safaris,
and we have peace. What we don’t have is investment.”
| Benguela | Namibe | Huambo | Lunda Norte | Bengo | Zaire | Lunda Sul |
|
||
|
ige’s
governor, Cordeiro Ernesto Nzakundomba,
is also seeking self-sufficiency in food production for his province,
as well as the chance to grow crops for export. Coffee was once a
major export until civil unrest drove people away from the land. Fruit
juices and beverages were also produced, but the factories have long
since closed.
“There is a national programme to fight the Unita rebels, and
there is good cooperation between the provinces. There is also cooperation
in the agricultural sector and in cattle breeding in order to create
food self-sufficiency.”
Mr Nzakundomba says that in colonial times there was some exploitation
of the province’s mineral resources, including copper, uranium,
lead, zinc, gold and diamonds. “Sources have been located and
identified, but not been exploited. We haven’t had time to develop
these.”
The
province’s tropical rainforest could provide a managed source
of hardwoods, he adds. “We are open to any type of investment.
Our people are welcoming and we’ll do everything we can to make
investors feel at home here. Once we have peace and some investment,
we will be able to restart coffee production – it is not labour
intensive and we have a good climate,” says Mr Nzakundomba. “Our
priority is to restart agricultural production. From there, we want
to create micro-industries for food processing and grow little by
little. We must achieve food self-sufficiency.”
Soft drink manufacturers have already set up in Uige, and some coffee
is being grown – and a little exported. Other crops include cassava,
sweet potatoes, bananas, peanuts, beans and maize. These are all intended
for local markets, however, as the province is virtually isolated
from the rest of the country as a result of poor roads and wrecked
bridges.
While
the provinces have gained some autonomy, Mr Nzakundomba believes that
“political power without financial resources is useless”.
He says: “The trouble is, all the investments are centralised
in Luanda, which disburses them later. The provincial governors are
pushing for financial decentralisation in order for them to allocate
funds more efficiently.”
| Benguela | Namibe | Uige | Lunda Norte | Bengo | Zaire | Lunda Sul |
|
||
|
uambo
province has suffered most from the war. About three-quarters of its
population are displaced citizens, the infrastructure is badly damaged
and industry is at a virtual standstill. But governor Antonio
Paulo Kassoma says Unita rebels failed in their attempt
to conquer the province, and the movement led by Jonas Savimbi has been
“totally defeated” and will never recover.
There are sporadic outbreaks of guerrilla warfare, but Mr Kassoma says
these will end when people have the necessary means for agricultural
work and living standards improve.
The capital, Huambo city, was founded by the Portuguese in the early
20th century. With much of it destroyed now, the aim is to reconstruct
the city’s infrastructure. Mr Kassoma says Huambo’s agricultural
land is fertile, but lack of irrigation is holding back development.
Maize, potatoes, beans and soya beans are the main staples grown as
cash crops. “In Huambo our slogan is ‘Agriculture is the petroleum
of Huambo’. Cabinda has the oil and can develop with oil, whereas
we have agriculture and that must function as the financial engine to
develop the province,” he says.
Huambo
has a university faculty devoted to agricultural science and an Institute
of Agronomic Research. With assistance from foreign organisations, these
two centres are being reactivated to train more people in modern agricultural
methods, including peasant farmers.
Mr Kassoma says: “Following the example of Germany, we are starting
the industrialisation of Huambo with micro-industries, which give people
jobs and allow them to earn some money, and also create the capacity
for bigger industries to get started.”
The biggest investments in Angola are being made in the oil industry
and in the capital, Luanda. The Huambo governor says it is vital that
the government directs more investment to the provinces and that the
way to do this is to grant investors in the provinces even greater incentives.
| Benguela | Namibe | Uige | Huambo | Bengo | Zaire | Lunda Sul |
unda
Norte province has received a government-distributed cash injection
of $2.68 million – its share of earnings from the diamond industry
– for social development.
The Programme for the Stabilisation of the Diamond Sector (Proesda)
has been set up to restructure the industry. Although diamonds will
continue to be a vital source of income, the provincial government has
made food self-sufficiency a top priority, with the modernisation of
its 48-year-old hydroelectric plant a close second.
|
||
|
Lunda
Norte is 1,300km from Luanda and 1,470km from Benguela’s ports.
The poor state of the roads and the threat of attack by rebels and robbers
makes road transport hazardous and everything has to be airlifted. Even
so, UN food aid flights to several towns were suspended earlier this
year because of attacks on cargo aircraft by Unita rebels. Rehabilitation
of the province’s infrastructure will take considerably longer
than hoped.
Lunda Norte’s governor, Manuel Francisco
Gomes Maiato, believes the population “became lazy”
as the diamond industry, initiated by the Portuguese colonialists, rose
in importance and took people away from the land.
“This is one of the poorest provinces in Angola,” he says.
“We have a food deficit because our people are not used to practising
much agriculture. For two years we have been promoting agriculture and
livestock because the government found it better to involve the population
in these activities. But we have had positive results. Besides diamonds,
I would like to develop more mechanised agriculture and livestock rearing.”
| Benguela | Namibe | Uige | Huambo | Lunda Norte | Zaire | Lunda Sul |
|
||
|
n
Bengo province, governor Isalino Mendes
faces problems that are familiar across Angola. “Our population
cannot keep on depending on the support of non-governmental organisations,”
he says.
There is hope that petroleum may be found in exploitable volumes but,
he says, “the challenge for our government is the agricultural
sector because farmers comprise 80 per cent of our population”.
Three big rivers flow through Bengo and, with the completion of two
irrigation schemes, some 85,000 hectares of land will come under cultivation.
Corn, sunflowers and tomatoes are the preferred crops because they will
form the basis of processing industries.
Fisheries – Bengo has a 50km coastline but no fishing ports – timber and possibly petroleum could contribute, although Mr Mendes insists: “Agriculture will be the motor for development in this province. I am optimistic because we are closer to peace and our economy is stabilising.”
| Benguela | Namibe | Uige | Huambo | Lunda Norte | Bengo | Lunda Sul |
etroleum
is the main resource of Zaire province. Governor Ludy Kissassunda says:
“We have more than 300km of coastline and rich fishing waters,
but there is no infrastructure for a fishing industry. Our strength
is in agriculture – in some regions we harvest beans twice a year
and we grow a lot of corn, fruit and manioc, the staple food of this
region. Much more could be grown.”
He adds: “At this moment the level of development in every sector
is low. The petroleum sector is the target for investment, but our long-term
bet is on the agricultural sector because petroleum is a non-renewable
resource. We cannot depend on petroleum alone.”
As
Mr Kissassunda points out, the province was once self-sufficient in
many sectors. “We imported almost nothing,” he says. “With
peace we can avoid foreign imports and work by ourselves. It is senseless
for us to buy beans because we can produce them in high quantities,
and each of Angola’s provinces can produce enough to feed its people.
“We have many rich resources and we are ready to work with partners.
And there is also a great possibility of creating agro-industry in Zaire,”
he says.
| Benguela | Namibe | Uige | Huambo | Lunda Norte | Bengo | Zaire |
n
contrast, the province of Lunda Sul’s most urgent requirement is
energy and petrol has to be brought in by air on a daily basis. The
need for a hydroelectric station is pressing and a $35 million project,
which will require foreign investment, is being evaluated. The province
once exported rice and, says governor Francisco Sozinho Chihuissa, there
is potential to grow more, as well as corn, peanuts and manioc. “But
without fuel, it is very difficult to modernise agriculture.”
He adds: “For now we are committed to developing the energy sector
only. Even the Catoca project (a diamond mine) has energy problems.
They have been using diesel generators and have to spend a lot of money
on fuel transportation.
“We don’t have any industry because people want to invest
in areas with good energy supplies. As we improve our energy sector,
we will also see improvements in our agricultural production.”
[email protected]