Angola and Brazil are closing in on an agreement that could put as much as 800,000 hectares of Angolan farmland in the hands of Brazilian-led agricultural projects, as the oil-dependent African country looks to foreign capital to expand food production and build a new export industry.
The negotiations would bring Brazilian agricultural companies, technology and financing into one of Angola’s largest proposed farming developments.
According to Bloomberg, Brazil’s government expects an agreement on the projects to be reached soon, although financing arrangements remain a key hurdle.
The talks come after Angola’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Isaac dos Anjos warned earlier this month that the country could turn to other partners if Brazilian lenders failed to provide the financial guarantees needed to get the projects moving.
Brazil’s development bank, BNDES, is aware of the negotiations, but financing can only be structured after commercial agreements have been concluded, André Taveira Cruz, an export credit manager at the bank.
