Women in Angola Farming

Duration: January 2021 – January 2028
Total Funding: $5.5 million

OVERVIEW

The Women in Angolan Farming activity is a public-private partnership that is empowering rural communities to improve their livelihoods and increase their food security through an approach that focuses on empowering women as leaders in the agricultural sector.  The activity is breaking down economic, social, and cultural barriers faced by Angolan women that prevent them from realizing their full potential to contribute to their community’s prosperity. In addition to low agricultural productivity that keeps communities trapped in poverty, challenges faced by rural women in Angola include a) lack of knowledge on rights and procedures to secure land tenure; b) unequal access to basic education and literacy; c) barriers to obtaining national identity documents required to access employment, education, loans, and property; and d) cultural norms and lack of knowledge concerning women’s role in society.   

The activity will empower more than 20,000 Angolan women to succeed as smaller-scale producers in the agricultural sector by increasing productivity and linking them to larger buyers.  The activity combines training on technically-sound conservation approaches with access to basic extension services that include the utilization of agricultural best practices and support to form effective farming cooperatives with leadership roles for women. At the individual level, the program provides access to and finances basic education and literacy for adults, supports women through the process to secure land tenure, facilitates women to obtain national ID cards and birth certificates, and combats misconceptions and ignorance concerning gender roles through community education and outreach.     

With an initial USAID contribution of $1 million, three private sector companies provided more that $1.5 million in cash and in-kind contributions to support the project.  In 2023, USAID committed an additional $4.5 million to the project through the Gender Equality and Equity Action (GEEA) Fund to scale up activities and increase the number of provinces where WAF is making a difference.  

The Women in Angola Farming activity is implemented in 10 provinces of Angola, including the three main provinces of the Lobito Corridor, namely Benguela, Huambo and Bié, to utilize the growing USG-supported infrastructure investments in this region for trade in agricultural goods. Additional provinces include Malanje, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Luanda, Huíla, Namibe and Cuando Cubango. It is implemented by a local NGO, Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo para Povo (ADPP), in close collaboration with the Government of Angola’s Ministries of Agriculture, Family and Women Affairs, Education, and Justice and Human Rights. 

ACTIVITIES

• Training for women farmers in conservation farming techniques to increase agricultural production;
• Literacy training via Farmers’ Clubs;
• Training in the Participatory Land Delimitation (PLD) methodology, facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO);
• Providing technical assistance on PLD to provincial and municipal authorities;
• Establishing 113 Farmers’ Clubs, providing technical assistance in management and finance;
• Assisting women with the registration processes to obtain identification (ID) cards and birth certificates for their children;
• Establishing Women’s Advocates networks in 120 communities, composed of both women and men, to promote an enabling environment for women’s empowerment;
• Developing radio programs on gender issues to better promote women’s empowerment.

KEY RESULTS TO DATE 

• 4,800 women farmers have improved agricultural techniques and are able to sell an increasing share of their production.

• 600 men and women trained as mentors on key gender-based violence prevention in their communities.
• 118 organized communities mobilized and undertaking the formalization process to obtain land titling documentation.
• 22,268 women farmers enrolled in basic adult literacy courses.
• 5,358 women graduated with 4th grade equivalency and became literate.
• 9,288 women farmers obtained their birth certificates for the first time.
• 4,693 women farmers obtained their National ID for the first time.
• 4,595 women farmers obtained birth certificates for their children.

PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNER'S CONTRIBUTIONS