Incatema studies rice value chain in Angola

14 September, 2023

Incatema has conducted a study on the rice value chain in Angola. Its report is part of a series of studies that the company is carrying out as part of the Technical Assistance for the promotion of Public-Private Dialogue within the Commercial Agriculture Development Project in Angola (CADP), funded by the World Bank and the French Development Agency.

Rice is a highly strategic product for Angola's food security. The country currently consumes 450,000 tons per year, almost entirely imported. Currently, Angola only produces 25,000 tons (5 to 6% of the consumed amount). According to Ana Romero, Head of Consultancy Department at Incatema, “it is not surprising that rice is one of the crops targeted by PLANAGRÃO, a recently launched program by the Angolan government, which aims at doubling the country’s cereal production from the current 3.14 million to 6 million by 2027. This will increase the cultivated area for cereal production by 2 million Ha, 34% allocated to wheat, 30% to rice, 20% to soybeans, and the rest to maize production.”

The current study concludes that technical limitations in the rice value chain in Angola can be easily overcome. In fact, visited farms are successfully cultivating rice in Angola at present. These farms overcome technical limitations by hiring agronomists and consultants from abroad and directly importing seeds and equipment.

Need for significant financial and technological investments for rice value chain development

The biggest limitation, and a real entry barrier, is a financial one, due to the significant investments required to start preparing the land for flooded rice cultivation, and integrating harvesting, processing and packaging into the operations, which are not yet available independently in the market.

“Therefore, it is undeniable that the rice value chain in Angola can only be developed with large agro-industrial farms with a high-tech and integrated production system (including processing), and with strong financial resources and/or access to credit,” Ana Romero adds.

This way, rice value chain can be considered highly relevant to the Commercial Agriculture Development Project in Angola, as its success depends primarily on incentives and/or support for the high initial investment through the development of public-private partnerships. As long as these conditions are met, the country can achieve sustainable development objectives directly related to zero hunger and poverty eradication.