Name: Angola: Agriculture and beekeeping give refugees hope
Uploaded: 2025-12-03T14:05:29.684Z
Duration: 5 min 25 s
Description: In Angola, food aid for thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo has been cut in half. As donors retreated, the UN has launched farming and beekeeping projects to build sustainable food sources.

In Angola, food aid for thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo has been cut in half. As donors retreated, the UN has launched farming and beekeeping projects to build sustainable food sources.

Luanda

Thousands of refugees who fled conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo now reside in a camp in northern Angola, where they face dwindling food aid and limited resources. Rations provided by the World Food Programme have been reduced, and many donor countries have cut humanitarian budgets, leaving refugees with insufficient supplies.

To address these challenges, land has been allocated for refugees to farm, and beekeeping projects have been introduced with the support of local communities. These initiatives are helping both refugees and local residents to achieve greater self-sufficiency, improve nutrition, and restore dignity as they work together to build a new future.

Angola: Agriculture and beekeeping give refugees hope

The people in this refugee camp in northern Angola fled war at home, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, eight years ago. They have left behind the violence there, but the situation here is getting difficult. They get maize flour, a packet of salt and beans. This is all they have for two months. There's not enough to eat. It's simply not enough to fill us up. Angola's record, what supplies they are able to give to the 6,000 refugees here. But it's getting tight, for especially the most vulnerable. I have no husband. We have to talk about the food. It's simply not enough food. Joseph is a qualified electrician. He lives with his family and two orphans they took in. They are seven. I could work, but there isn't any work for me here. There isn't even electricity in the camp. Rations provided by the United Nations World Food Programme are half of what they used to be. Oil and soap rations have been cut completely. Many of the donor countries have dramatically reduced their aid. In the US in particular, but also many European countries, humanitarian budgets this year are at an all-time low, despite rising need. Espinola Karib is head of the World Food Programme in Angola. He admits what they are offering is not enough for people to survive on. Funding is a serious challenge that we are facing, but we cannot abandon those refugees. There is a lot of work that has been done when the refugees start coming here. And abandoning them in the halfway is not the right way to do. They have secured land for the refugees to grow their own food. The whole area is for about 300 families to grow on. Mama Anto, who lives in the camp, is responsible for the project. At some point the food aid may stop altogether. Then what should we do? We have to farm for ourselves. Everyone who gets a piece of land here works hard, to help their families and the community. She says each of the families gets a hectare to work on. The land is far from the refugee camp, but it gives them some self-sufficiency. We're not just growing rice. There are bananas and manioc. And we're also growing maize. We can't just eat rice. Growing on their own is the only other alternative to aid. The refugees are not allowed to get a job. The land they are farming has been provided by the Angolan government. You need to get government clearance. And then you need to engage the community to make sure that there is a community buy-in and acceptance before the refugees get land and then they start the work. And you need to make sure that also the community is not excluded from that. People living near the refugee camp also need help. It's a poor area with few opportunities. They benefit from the projects here. Local children go to the refugee camp school. And some of their parents receive job training. Zoba Monquambo is the leader of a small village nearby. Five of the 80 people in the village work with refugees keeping beehives. We've had two harvests already. That's very good for us. Honey is like medicine. Honey feeds our children. Honey improves our lives. In the early evening, these two new beekeepers make their rounds. I didn't know how all this worked. But the World Food Programme taught me. I love working outside. I like working a lot. I learned it even at my age. I can support my family with the honey. The aim is to train more people and build more beehives. More honey for themselves, the community and even to sell. They feel they are contributing to save their dignity. So this is why this livelihood project is very important. Even though the border is not far away, the refugees don't want to go home. They want to stay here with their new neighbours. They are all focusing building a new future for themselves.

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