COUNTRY FOCUS: ANGOLA
Prior to gaining independence from
Portugal in 1975, Angola had a rich
tradition of family-based farming and
was self-sufficient in all major food crops,
except wheat. But by the early 1990s, the
Southern Africa country produced less
than 1% of the volume it had produced
two decades previously, while production
of cotton, tobacco and sugar cane ceased
almost entirely. However, there is a lot of
potential in Angola, with the agriculture
sector set to benefit from multimillion-
dollar investments.
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Upturn in fortune for ICT
sector in Angola
E
fforts to improve agriculture
productivity in Angola and Lesotho
has received a boost following the
World Bank Board approval of a US$50
million project to increase the availability
of agricultural technologies. This will be
done under the ongoing World Bank
financed Agriculture Productivity Program
for Southern Africa (APPSA) involving three
other countries in the region; Malawi,
Mozambique and Zambia.
APPSA’s focus on agriculture technology
addresses the need to improve the
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INTELLIGENTCIO
competitiveness and resilience of African
agriculture using regional integration as a key
mechanism to achieve higher rates of growth
and poverty reduction. While agricultural
productivity has increased in Southern
Africa, Angola and Lesotho’s average yields
are below the regional average. The project
is expected to help narrow these gaps
with additional investment in technology
adaptation and dissemination.
“This project will help researchers, farmers,
extension agents, input distributors and
other end users in Angola and Lesotho to
strengthen linkages between themselves
and other participating countries,” said
Mark Cackler, World Bank Agriculture
Practice Manager.
“This is in line with the World Bank’s twin
goal to reduce extreme poverty and promote
shared prosperity.”
The US$50 million World Bank financing
comes from US$20 million of International
Development Association (IDA) and
US$25 million from International Bank
of Reconstruction and Development
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