Rehabilitating coffee plantations in Angola

Overview

Results

The team

Related information

So what's the problem?

Before the civil war that began in 1975, Angola was the fourth largest producer of coffee in the world, exporting over 240,000 tonnes of coffee per year at its peak and providing livelihoods for a large proportion of Angola’s population. However, many coffee estates were abandoned as people fled their homes for safety and the industry was left in a poor state of decline in the years following the end of civil strife in 2002. As a result, Angola’s coffee production has dropped and the industry is in need of rejuvenation to provide income to its population.

What is this project doing?

The first phase of this project, which ended in March 2009, saw displaced farming families re-settled on abandoned land and given basic tools, knowledge and equipment to establish housing and agriculture. They were also assisted in weeding, replanting and fertilizing their land with the goal of attaining yields of 350 kg/ha.

The project was extended to March 2011, and in this new phase over one million coffee seedlings were transplanted from nurseries into the field at a spacing of 2 × 2 m, which rehabilitated over 400 ha of coffee, and over 2400 ha of coffee were pruned. The success of ten extension staff-managed demonstration plots has been proved as many farmers started pruning and weeding their coffee once they had visited the plots and seen the positive effect of such practices on yield and general plant growth.

Results so far

The 4917 farmers participating in the project have been organized into 518 solidarity groups, 101 associations and 13 legal and registered cooperatives. It is through these farmers’ groups that microcredit of over US$2.3 million was channelled. Up to 70 farmers’ cooperatives and associations have started harvesting coffee, i.e. the first harvest from coffee seedlings planted during the project. Over 300 tonnes of coffee was hulled and marketed from the project area in 2010. Construction and use of proper patios for drying coffee by 2011 will further improve the quality of coffee.

The construction of four schools and a health post has been completed and the local community is very happy.

The coffee varietal trial at the Instituto Nacional do Café (INCA) Gabela station is progressing well and data collection has commenced. Over 80 extension staff have been trained in good agricultural practices (GAP) and two INCA staff were trained in Brazil in coffee classification and grading.

Project reports

Project flyer

Project Executive