Official figures reveal that rice production in Angola remains far below national consumption needs.

The country continues to timidly produce one of the world's most consumed cereals, rice. Just to give you an idea, annually, the entire arros production industry only makes 11,696 tons of the product, and the need for consumption skyrockets above 450 thousand tons.

Julieta Paquete

A total of 21,696 tons of rice have already been produced this year in Angola through national production fields in the provinces of Malanje, Cuando Cubango, Huíla and Luanda. Despite this achievement, the number is still insufficient for the country's needs since, annually, the country consumes 450 thousand tons, according to data from the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP). 

MEP statistics show that, annually, the country has a production capacity of 11,696 tons, but families consume a margin far above the total produced in the country, which reveals that there is still an insufficiency in the national production of the cereal.

The Angolan population is estimated at more than 33 million inhabitants, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), published in July 2022. And it could reach 73 million inhabitants by 2050, according to the representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

As far as we can ascertain, with each passing day the price of basic basket products is skyrocketing in the main markets of Luanda. In the case of rice alone, for example, in a short time, the 25kg bag of rice, a product that is part of the National Grain Production Plan (Planagrão), rose from 17,000 to 20 or even 21,000 kwanzas in the Angolan market. 

Agricultural producers in the commercial sector of Malanje, in the provinces of Luanda, Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul, as part of the policy to reduce the import of basic basket goods, contributed with a production of 18 thousand tons of rice.

Os dois grandes produtores de arroz estão localizados no município de Cahombo, a 185 quilómetros a norte da cidade de Malanje, nomeadamente as Fazendas Lucky Man e Coshino, com mil hectares e três mil toneladas de arroz.

Along with the commercial sector, there are families that have also contributed with some production in the municipalities of Luquembo and Cambundi-catembo, where 500 tons of the cereal were harvested.
The Marciris Farm, located in Luquembo, in the province of Malanje, produced about 4,000 tons of rice in half a year in a space of 600 hectares.

The municipality of Matala, in the province of Huíla, is very close to becoming the largest producer of this cereal and covering a good part of the country's needs. In this campaign, the harvest reached 1,600 tons, until April next year, it is expected to reach 2,450 tons, an amount that will continue to increase every three months of rice production.

The municipality estimates a harvest of about 3,000 tons of rice this agricultural season as a result of private investment by a Chinese company. The rice cultivation project is located in an area of 514 hectares, in the irrigated perimeter of Matala, located on the banks of the Cunene River.