Angola Key Message Update March - September 2026: Dry conditions reduce March to June grain harvest prospects

Country: Angola Source: Famine Early Warning System Network Please refer to the attached file. Key Messages As the lean season ends in March, consumption of green crops and the seasonal increase in milk supply have eased acute food insecurity. Lingering effects of drought from previous years and flooding this year have made Huíla and Cunene provinces in southern Angola the areas of highest concern. Pastoral and agropastoral households in Cunene, Namibe, and Cuando Cubangocontinue to employ negative coping strategies, including selling assets, to meet their food needs. In Moxico and parts of Huíla, crop-dependent households have exhausted food stocks early due to last year’s below-average harvests. A cholera outbreak in Angola over the past year has also heightened risks of acute malnutrition in affected areas. However, food security is likely to improve as agricultural labor demand peaks from April to June with the cereal harvest, providing needed income for poor households. From February 21 to 23, heavy rainfall in Cunene province caused flooding , which displaced households and damaged infrastructure. On March 4, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) reported that 6,000 people were affected, and over 1,000 were displaced. Displaced households and others in the flood-affected areas are facing difficulty conducting their usual livelihoods. The October to May rainy season has been dry in western, central, and northern areas of Angola, but near-average in the rest of the country. Rainfall started on time in most areas, except for delays in the transitional maize and cassava lowland livelihood zones in the west. There were cumulative rainfall deficits across the season in major crop-producing provinces such as Huíla, Bié, Benguela, and Cuanza Sul in central Angola, but vegetation has remained near average. Cumulative rainfall was near average in the southern cattle, millet, and sorghum livelihood zones of Cunene, Cuando Cubango, and Moxico in southern Angola. Both central and southern areas had dry spells in February and part of March. The central region, the country’s surplus-producing grain belt, received average to below-average precipitation. Average to below-average rainfall is forecast for April for most of the country with above-average rainfall more likely in southern Angola. The main cereal harvest began in March, and production is expected to be average to below average nationally ,following the February and March dry spells that impacted crops across the central and southern highlands. Many of the key maize-producing areas in the central highlands and agropastoral areas in southern Angola were affected. Reduced local supply will likely force greater reliance on more expensive imports in the coming months. Wetter conditions in the south are expected to drive near-average sorghum and millet production and pasture conditions. Cropping conditions are also favorable in the central-eastern cassava surplus-producing zones of Cubango and Bié provinces. Harvests for maize and cassava are likely to be below average in the transitional lowland and coastal livelihood zones due to below average cumulative rainfall. Poor macroeconomic conditions are likely to lead to lower purchasing power for poor households. Angola has been eliminating its fuel subsidies in multiple steps since 2023, but the sudden increase in fuel prices in July 2025 led to protests and confrontations between protesters and security forces . While headline inflation has been decreasing since peaking at 31 percent in July 2024 , it remains elevated at 13 percent in February . Food and non-alcoholic beverages remain the primary drivers of inflation, especially for imported items. The escalation of conflict in the Middle East is likely to result in further increases in fuel prices, which may lead to further domestic price increases. While Angola exports crude oil, refined oil products are largely imported as the country works to increase its refinery capacity. Rising food, fuel, and fertilizer import prices are likely to constrain the purchasing power of poor urban and rural households. Transportation costs will also likely increase all costs in rural areas as goods have to travel farther to reach markets in these areas.

Read More