Luanda: The Angolan government launched the "AgriConnect" 2025-2030 project in Luanda on Wednesday. This initiative aims to transform the agrifood system, attract private investment, and accelerate national economic diversification along the Lobito and Malanje corridors.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the program envisages mobilizing up to US$1.45 billion in long-term funding and it is co-financed by the World Bank (WB) in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MINAGRIF) and the Ministry of Planning (MINPLAN). Key social targets for 2030 include the creation of over 445,000 jobs, with 40 percent (approximately 178,000) designated for women.
The program's methodological document, presented by Anderson Jer³nimo, Director of the Office for Studies and Planning at MINAGRIF, states that AgriConnect was created to address structural challenges in Angola's agrifood sector and reduce reliance on imports. Agriculture currently accounts for 19 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 50.7 percent of the country's total workforce. The sector is dominated by approximately 3.2 million family farms, which account for over 90 percent of the cultivated area and provide between 80 and 85 percent of staple food production. Despite this potential, the country still records a significant annual agri-food trade deficit exceeding US$2.4 billion.
According to the data presented, the plan identifies low productivity levels resulting from the limited use of modern inputs and irrigation. The national average fertilizer usage stands at just six kilograms per hectare (kg/ha), and irrigation coverage extends to only 2.5 percent of the cultivated area (130,000 hectares nationwide). Additionally, there is underutilization of installed agro-industrial capacity, including an annual processing deficit of approximately 560,000 tons in animal feed production and idle industrial milling capacity estimated at 3.6 million tons per year.
To reverse this situation, AgriConnect has established macroeconomic and social targets for 2030, structured around three pillars of direct impact. Regarding economic growth, the plan aims to reduce food imports into Angola by 12 to 19 percent, generating estimated annual savings of between US$250 million and US$300 million. In the realm of food and nutritional security, the goal is to ensure food security for 5.23 million people and lift 186,000 children under the age of five out of chronic malnutrition.
As for social inclusion, the plan targets the integration of 11,200 new young producers (under 35 years of age) and aims to ensure that women hold at least 45 percent of jobs in agro-industrial processing, while also ensuring that 60 percent of rural Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are led by young people. The launch event was attended by the Minister of Agriculture and Forests, Isaac dos Anjos; the World Bank Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa; and representatives from financial institutions, the private sector, and producer organizations.
