The southern provinces of Angola are facing a severe food crisis resulting from the impact of drought on agriculture and livelihoods (particularly between November 2020 and January 2021). Below-average rainfall from 2018 until the 2020–2021 rainy season (which typically runs from November – April) contributed to the worst drought (in terms of impact on livelihoods) recorded in the country since 1981.
Below-average rains significantly reduced agricultural production – the main household activity in the affected areas. A lack of water and pasture has caused the death of livestock, further affecting farmers’ livelihoods. A reduction in purchasing power related to an increase in food prices (caused by low cereal production and local currency depreciation) and the locust infestation, which has also caused considerable damage to crops in some municipalities of Cunene, Huíla, and Namibe provinces, are compounding the effects of the drought. These factors further reduce access to food for low-income households.
In Cunene and Huíla, the occupation of communal grazing land by commercial cattle farmers deprive traditional pastoralists of fertile lands, undermining their ability to produce food.
(AI 21/07/2021, WFP 24/09/2021, IPC 17/09/2021, FAO 30/11/2021)
The southern provinces of Angola are facing a severe food crisis resulting from the impact of drought on agriculture and livelihoods (particularly between November 2020 and January 2021). Below-average rainfall from 2018 until the 2020–2021 rainy season (which typically runs from November – April) contributed to the worst drought (in terms of impact on livelihoods) recorded in the country since 1981.
Below-average rains significantly reduced agricultural production – the main household activity in the affected areas. A lack of water and pasture has caused the death of livestock, further affecting farmers’ livelihoods. A reduction in purchasing power related to an increase in food prices (caused by low cereal production and local currency depreciation) and the locust infestation, which has also caused considerable damage to crops in some municipalities of Cunene, Huíla, and Namibe provinces, are compounding the effects of the drought. These factors further reduce access to food for low-income households.
In Cunene and Huíla, the occupation of communal grazing land by commercial cattle farmers deprive traditional pastoralists of fertile lands, undermining their ability to produce food.
(AI 21/07/2021, WFP 24/09/2021, IPC 17/09/2021, FAO 30/11/2021)
