Angola's Agricultural Development Support Fund (FADA) will make 1.25 billion kwanzas available this year to support the farming operations of 50 agricultural cooperatives working along the Cafu Canal in Cunene province, as part of a drive to boost cereal and vegetable output in one of the country's most water-stressed regions.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Dário Amaral, manager of FADA's Southern Regional Agency, speaking on the sidelines of the Cafu Project 2026 Agricultural Forum, which brought together producers from across Cunene province.
In the first phase of the disbursement, 25 cooperatives that have completed their formal registration processes will each receive 25 million kwanzas, Amaral told reporters.
Each of the qualifying cooperatives has access to ten hectares of arable land and counts ten members, who will be tasked with ramping up production of cereals and horticultural crops, according to Amaral.
He described the Cafu Canal as a significant water resource commanding a large expanse of farmable land, but noted that the presence of active producers along the corridor remains limited — underscoring the need to put a structured financing memorandum in place.
Amaral outlined the loan terms for beneficiaries: a two-month grace period followed by an interest rate of between one and seven percent, with repayment spread over 84 months — equivalent to seven years.
Piedade Pena, chairman of the board of Cwam Angola, highlighted the significance of the forum, which brought FADA together with partners including Jardins da Yoba and Agro África, all working towards agricultural development along the Cafu Canal.
"With this initiative, we want to align ourselves with the efforts of the Angolan executive to promote both family and commercial farming, with the aim of making the province more self-sufficient in food," Pena said.
He noted that multiple plots suited to cereal cultivation have already been demarcated along the Cafu corridor, but that farmers will first need capacity-building support to properly energise the productive sector.
The project is designed to finance all 50 cooperatives, covering a combined production area of 500 hectares, and is expected to generate 2,000 jobs along the canal, Pena added.
In the first phase, the initiative will focus on maize, millet (massango), sorghum (massambala), beans and, on a larger scale, tomatoes — with the stated ambition of making the Cafu area and Cunene province a cornerstone of the national food economy.
Pena reiterated the emphasis on training local farmers to transition from subsistence agriculture to commercial-scale operations, with a subsequent focus on packaging produce and exporting to neighbouring countries.
The Cafu Project 2026 Agricultural Forum was attended by Cunene's deputy governor for technical affairs and infrastructure, Generoso Kondjasili, as well as entrepreneurs from the agricultural sector.
The Cafu Canal project was inaugurated in April 2022 by President João Lourenço. The infrastructure features an open-air canal stretching approximately 165 kilometres, fed from a reservoir on the Cafu section of the Cunene River.
It is the first of five projects launched by the Angolan government under a structural action programme to combat drought in the region, and is ultimately expected to benefit 235,000 people.
Source: ANGOP / Original article: https://www.angop.ao/noticias/agricultura/fada-dispoe-de-1×2-mil-milhoes-de-kwanzas-para-producao-agricola-no-cafu/
