Angola: A story of change. Growing hope, from new knowledge on a new crop

Rice is produced in other parts of Angola, but not in the area around Bailundo, though conditions are favourable and there is much local demand. Building on the provision of technical expertise from other organisations, CDAIS is adding capacity development of another sort, of the ‘soft skills’ required to collaborate, learn, engage and adapt. “Now we will grow rice forever” says Marcos Satuala. “This innovation has given us a great thing – a new crop for us. And with CDAIS we can learn more, and grow more, for our families and to sell.”

This story of change from Angola is part of a series of stories occurred under the EU-funded CDAIS project, aimed at making agricultural innovation systems more efficient and sustainable in meeting the demands of farmers, agri-business and consumers. CDAIS  brings partners together and uses continuous learning cycles to address the challenges and opportunities in and around selected ‘innovation niche partnerships’ in eight pilot countries in Central America, Africa and Asia.