Angolan Widow Taps New Riches

“Cabinda is not just about oil,” says Palmira Lando, a 48-year-old Angolan farmer/supplier. “We have plenty of land for fruit production, and we are looking for new markets. We don’t want handouts from the government.” Lando is the widow of a former soldier, mother of six children and an active member of the 70-member Cabinda Farmers’ Association. Her household income level has jumped significantly thanks to ACDI/VOCA’s Cabinda Agribusiness Development Alliance project, which is supported by a public-private partnership with Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC)—a consortium of oil companies including Chevron—and USAID/Angola, with the goal of increasing local farmers’ incomes and providing better foodstuffs to local oil workers.

“I had a hard time making ends meet when my husband died in the war,” said Lando. “I was trucking fresh produce from Cabinda to the Congo border market in Massabi, but I had high losses due to the lack of storage facilities and delays due to customs formalities. The CADA project has opened markets for us farmers, and we have lots more produce for sale.”

Lando’s life has been made easier by the strengthened business linkages between her farm and local produce buyers. The same is true for the other 470 farmers and their families located in Cabinda Province, thanks to the support of the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC)—a consortium of oil companies including Chevron—and USAID/Angola. CABGOC and USAID fund sustainable small business activities in agriculture and other sectors. ACDI/VOCA is implementing CADA in a five-year initial phase to strengthen the capacity of local farmer organizations to meet the fruit and vegetable requirements of CABGOC and regional markets.

“I deliver my fruits to the CADA cold storage warehouse each week, and I receive cash payments each month,” Lando said. “Cabinda has not seen a project like this in my life.”

Between June 2004 and October 2005, Lando sold to the CADA project 12,558 kg of bananas and cassava products for a total of $9,223. She said that thanks to the CADA project she is able to pay her children’s school tuition and family medical expenses, buy clothes for the family and meet other pressing needs.