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Aldeia Nova offers a fresh start

Article - September 22, 2011
Its goal is twofold: to raise agricultural production and to reincorporate hundreds of families back into rural life
Aldeia Nova, which means ‘new village’ in Portuguese, is a rural development project begun privately in 2004 by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, and passed over to the Angolan government in 2008. Like many agriculturally-focused projects launched following the end of the civil war in 2002, Aldeia Nova was aimed in part at stemming the flood of people from the countryside to the nation’s (overcrowded) cities while also contributing to the revival of the country’s agricultural sector.

Consequently, Aldeia Nova in its first stage of development involved the construction of a settlement in Wako Kungo, Kwanza Sul, which lies directly on the route between Luanda and Huambo (a much traveled thoroughfare, according to project director Jose Cerqueira, who says that this has worked in the project’s favor by increasing its level of visibility).

In line with another of its objectives – to contribute positively to the reintegration of ex-combatants into a constructive social environment – Aldeia Nova welcomed members of both parties (the Angolan Armed Forces and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, or UNITA) along with their families to the newly constructed ‘village’ where shelter was given to 800 families and direct employment to more than 1,000 Angolans. 

Since then, the town has flourished, and services have sprung up alongside of the original infrastructure, including banks, schools, health centers and even hotels. Aldeia Nova’s agricultural products, which include sugar, grains, eggs, milk and dairy products, beef, chicken and pork, have given rise to a number of related small businesses such as processing plants.

“In our project you can see a village that was ruined, poor and psychologically depressed, in much better condition after just a few years. The development is visible in the construction of banks, the new investments, the people and infrastructure which have been rebuilt – all signs of unquestionable improvement. By accommodating 800 families, Aldeia Nova has made a huge investment in terms of both rural progress and agriculture,” says Mr. Cerqueira.

The ProCana sugar plantation has been particularly successful, leading project directors to believe that sugarcane, and ethanol, may be the largest contributor to the revival of the agricultural sector. Project Aldeia Nova employed experts from the UK, Brazil and Portugal to study the Angolan sugar industry before deciding to build ProCana’s 1,000-hectare nursery, which includes varieties of sugarcane imported from Uganda and Brazil.

Project Aldeia Nova has met with such overwhelming success in achieving its goals of providing Angolans with dignified housing solutions, of training the Angolan workforce and of reducing poverty and hunger through agricultural and livestock production, that there are now plans to export the model to other parts of the country, namely Lunda Norte and Malanje. 

Aldeia Nova’s director comments, “I’d like to see the project expanded to other provinces with a strong focus on current harvests (eggs, poultry, cereals, sugarcane). We are planning, to build one or two factories in Kwanza-Sul and eventually in Cunene province. Likewise, within four years we would like to see the export of ethanol from Port of Namibe – an activity in which we are now involved.”

Cerqueira adds that Aldeia Nova welcomes, and indeed is actively seeking, involvement from U.S. investors and companies interested in helping the project to expand, especially in the area of new agribusinesses. He says that American technological know-how could be instrumental in helping Aldeia Nova expand to other regions of the country.

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