Brazil, Angola advance construction of agriculture, livestock project to promote food security, sustainable development

During a meeting held on Friday (23) at Itamaraty Palace, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the President of Angola, João Lourenço, accompanied by the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro, Angola’s Minister of Agriculture, Isaac dos Anjos, and representatives from the productive sector, discussed advancements in the Brazil-Angola Program for Productive Agricultural Investment (Programa de Investimento Produtivo Agropecuário Brasil-Angola). This initiative aims to boost food production, generate jobs, and promote social development in Angola, with the direct involvement of both Brazilian and Angolan rural producers.

We are drafting a simple but very robust document. From there, we will initiate a new stage in the Brazil-Angola relations, with legal security and every condition to allow this work to begin fast and effectively.”
Carlos Fávaro, Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock

Minister Carlos Fávaro noted that the proposal resulted from a process that began with President Lula’s return to the Presidency. “The President has a genuine, and I mean this in the best sense, obsession with ensuring that Brazil contributes to the development of the African continent, especially in the fight against hunger. That is why he created the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty and promoted this second Forum of African Ministers of Agriculture with Brazil,” he stated.

Fávaro recalled that, throughout the past months, two missions to Angola took representatives from companies and the productive sector to learn more about the potentialities of the African country. “We visited productive arrangements, shared the structure of EMBRAPA [the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation], showed how Brazil developed technologies for tropical agriculture, and explained how this can be useful for the African countries,” he explained.

During the first mission, at the end of 2024, the minister was received by President João Lourenço. “He provided guidance on how to structure this initiative in his country. Upon returning to Brazil, we assembled a group that includes producers and businesspeople, many of them affiliated with cooperatives and organizations experienced in large-scale agriculture and livestock projects,” he reported. A second mission took place this month, with visits to several Angolan provinces. “We visited multiple regions, held meetings with authorities, and, in the end, drafted a very simple, direct, and objective document. It contains suggestions and conditions for these Brazilian producers to begin operations in Angola,” the minister noted.

The proposals presented include the concession of up to 500,000 hectares of agricultural lands, valid for up to 60 years and renewable, as well as the definition of continuous areas to facilitate investments in infrastructure such as warehouses, workshops, and logistics. “This is key. Like we did in Brazil, when we conquered the Cerrado, the project must have scale, areas of continuity to make investments viable,” Fávaro explained.

The document foresees adjustments in Angolan legislation, particularly referring to plant variety protection, use of genetically modified seeds, and intellectual property, which have been determining for the leap in productivity in Brazilian agriculture in the past decades.

Another highlight of the proposal is the establishment of a guarantee fund using resources from Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, which will be able to guarantee up to 70% or 75% of the investments made by Brazilian producers in the African country. “This provides safety and attracts investors,” underscored the minister.

In addition to the economic aspects, Fávaro noted that the Brazilian producers are assuming a solid social commitment. “They will build agricultural villages, with adequate housing, schools, health clinics, and technical schools for local communities. There will also be an exchange of Angolan technicians and agronomists with Brazil for training and capacity building,” he described.

The minister also highlighted that, in addition to the areas destined for large-scale production, the program foresees the elaboration of projects to provide support to neighboring communities. “These projects will provide machinery for the Angolan producers to develop their agricultural practices, learning and structuring themselves until they reach their autonomy,” he explained.

At the end of the meeting, Presidents Lula and João Lourenço instructed their teams to advance the drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize cooperation in agriculture and livestock. “We are drafting a simple but very robust document. From there, we will initiate a new stage in the Brazil-Angola relations, with legal security and every condition to allow this work to begin fast and effectively,” stated Fávaro.

Minister Fávaro concluded by highlighting that the proposal represents a strategic step into the consolidation of Brazil as a global reference in sustainable and solidary tropical agriculture. The minister underscored that the disposition of Brazilian producers to share knowledge, technology, and experiences is key to strengthening food security, generating economic development, and promoting social inclusion. In his assessment, Brazil and Angola are fully capable of building a solid partnership that can generate concrete impacts in the rural development and social transformation of the African continent.