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Rural poverty in Angola

Despite its immense natural wealth, Angola has one of the highest rates of poverty in the world. In 2001 about 68 per cent of the population was living below the poverty line, surviving on less than US$1.68 per day. Fifteen per cent of the households were living in extreme poverty. The country has a very high child mortality rate.

Angola does not yet produce enough food to meet the needs of its population. There are major deficits and low crop yields in some provinces, and they include the staple crops of maize, millet and sorghum. In 2002 about US$210.0 million was spent on emergency aid to Angola.

Poverty is far more severe and widespread in rural areas, where an estimated 94 per cent of households are poor. Although the war ended in 2002, conditions remain extremely difficult. Housing is rudimentary and health services cover only 30 per cent of rural areas. The majority of households have no electricity and no adequate sanitation. Access to safe drinking water is also limited, and more than 60 per cent of rural households obtain their water from unsafe sources. In general women and girls are responsible for fetching the family's water, sometimes walking 1 km or more to reach the nearest source.

The civil war prompted a massive exodus from rural areas. In 2002, 35 per cent of the population was still living in towns and cities, and it is not easy to determine how many have returned to rural areas since then. The difficult conditions that prevail in rural areas are a disincentive for people to settle there and return to farming. Families that were displaced during the civil war have reverted to an entirely subsistence existence, and many have been dependent on humanitarian assistance up until recently.

Who and where are Angola's rural poor people?

The central highlands was the region most affected by the war and is now most vulnerable to food insecurity. The provinces of Huambo, northern Huíla and parts of Bié were at the core of the conflict, and most of the combatants on both sides came from these areas.

The central highlands region is subject to intense population pressure, with an estimated two thirds of the country's population concentrated there, most of them living in extreme poverty. Environmental decline is accelerating. Impoverished soils, poor farming practices and competition for farmland combine to diminish productivity and aggravate food insecurity.

Despite some progress made since the country's independence, there are still major gender disparities in Angolan culture. Men are regarded as the sole decision-makers and women as subordinate to men. Only a third of women are literate, compared to 69 per cent of men. Women have gained some autonomy as a result of the civil war. During the war women were forced to engage in trading as an alternative source of income. Migration and the impact of deaths in the war have left many more women than men in Angola. Women now provide most of the agricultural labour force.

About a third of households are headed by women, but in some rural areas the figure may be higher. Households headed by women are among the poorest and most vulnerable. Women sustain a heavy burden of labour. In addition to housework, caring for their families and fetching water and wood, they are also engaged in farming activities and in processing crops such as cassava and maize. Without male labour to clear and plough land, households headed by women face severe obstacles to food production.

Children are also a particularly vulnerable group in Angola. About 60 per cent of the population is now under 18 years of age, and there are large numbers of orphans and displaced and refugee children, many with disabilities, who are at risk of abuse or exploitation.

Why are they poor?

The three decades of internal conflict have led to widespread poverty in Angola. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged and undeveloped as a result of the civil war, and this is especially true in rural areas. Health and education systems have broken down. Rural areas have been isolated from essential services and markets. Crops and livestock have been stolen or destroyed. Irrigation systems existing before the war, mainly for commercial sugar cane and banana estates, have gradually fallen into disrepair because of lack of funds and institutional neglect. Agriculture and food production have declined dramatically as a result.

The war led to a massive exodus from many rural areas as people flocked to towns and cities for safety. About 4 million people (about one third of the population) were internally displaced at the end of the war. Nearly 500,000 Angolan refugees fled to neighbouring countries. Tens of thousands are returning to rural areas although there are few incentives to do so. The rural economy has all but collapsed. The landmines and unexploded bombs that litter the countryside are a danger to those who want to return and cultivate the land, and they are a constraint on economic and social recovery. Social and physical infrastructure are badly damaged and neglected. In particular the lack of roads and bridges, which allow farmers access to markets, is a major impediment to trade. Farmers also lack access to agricultural inputs and other assets necessary to begin producing again. They need seeds, adequate tools to work the land, animals for traction and fertilizers for areas such as the central highlands, where soil fertility has been depleted.

Source: IFAD