Small Agriculture Market Access Programme (SAMAP), a new agricultural project in Angola for Incatema

6 October, 2021

Incatema Consulting & Engineering has been awarded a new contract in Angola, in the context of the Small Agriculture Market Access Programme (SAMAP) in the provinces of Cuanza Sul and Huila (SADCP - C&H). SAMAP is a programme financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the French Development Agency AFD directed at two beneficiary groups: farmers with parcels of less than 2 hectares and groups and associations of women and young people who work in the farming sector.

This programme seeks to solve some of the farming sector’s deficiencies by strengthening national and provincial institutions (Cuanza Sul and Huila) and improving the efficiency, productivity, and marketing of products in family and subsistence agriculture. These measures will optimise producers’ access to markets and the appropriate technologies.

“The purpose of this new work in Angola is to prepare feasibility studies and designs for the construction and/or rehabilitation of several small-scale gravity-fed irrigation schemes”, points out Ana Romero, project director of the consulting firm Incatema Consulting & Engineering.

“Priority will be given to the active participation of beneficiary communities in the feasibility studies of the infrastructures, especially as regards their environmental and socioeconomic feasibility. In the first instance, local communities and farmer associations will be consulted to identify their needs and priorities and they will be involved in the design of the new irrigation schemes. Furthermore, with their involvement from the outset, the aim is to ensure that they will also take charge of future management and maintenance of the new irrigation systems, thereby guaranteeing their sustainability.

Local technologies to ensure the infrastructure’s sustainability

The use of locally-available materials and technologies will be prioritised so that the local communities can carry out ordinary maintenance once the projects have been executed so as to guarantee the sustainability of constructed and rehabilitated infrastructures.

Local farmers who take part in the design studies, construction, and rehabilitation of the irrigation infrastructures will also be the final operators. Therefore, the relationships established during the feasibility studies and design activity will constitute the core for establishing water user associations responsible for the operation and maintenance of the small-scale gravity-fed irrigation systems.