Traditionally, Angola had been a country that lived off agriculture, but 27 years of war has heavily impacted the livelihoods of rural populations. And now, 50% of the population lives in a situation of food insecurity, of which 21% of the cases are extreme.

Angola, a population suffering from hunger

Local food production is low due to lack of knowledge and quality inputs (seeds). Much of the basic food needs to be imported and has unaffordable prices for the population. This makes life difficult in rural areas, creating a situation of permanent food insecurity.

The poorest farmers live in a situation of absolute precariousness, without access to what is the basis of agriculture: quality seeds.

The only quality seeds available are imported from countries like Brazil, at prohibitive costs for the small farmer.

“Sementes do Planalto”, the beginning of the change

To change this, we have set up community “quality seeds banks”, which allow small farmers to access quality seeds at an affordable price. These warehouses are located in the same cooperatives and also help small farmers become seed producers.

We teach them how to select the best seeds, store them and how to treat them. Through a credit in kind, in which you repay twice as many seeds as you have borrowed, the number of quality seeds has multiplied, and more and more poor farmers are accessing these seeds.

In addition, we have created Sementes do Planalto, a brand that will enable producers to sell these quality seeds and become suppliers, for their own country.

The change has been immediate, now they produce 30% more in each harvest, being able to produce their own food. And we have introduced more varieties of seeds, like soybeans, diversifying their diet so that malnutrition among children disappears.