The current monitoring period covers the growing and harvesting stages of rainfed wheat in the provinces of Bengela, Kuanza Sul, Luanda, Bengo and Kuanza Norte. The planting of maize and rice began in late September and it is expected to last until late November. Estimated biomass dropped by 6%, due to below-average rainfall by (RAIN -15%). The temperature increased by 0.2ºC, while the radiation was near the average of the past fifteen years. The NDVI development graph indicates that nationwide, crop conditions were near the average of the past five years from July to September, deteriorating in early October till the end of the monitoring period, when the harvesting period of wheat was completed.

At the country level, the overall VCIx was acceptable, with a value of 0.84. According to its spatial distribution, the best VCIx values were recorded in the province of Cuando Cubango, Benguela, Cuanza Sul and Bengo. The VCIx spatial distribution was generally consistent with those of NDVI, according to the NDVI departures, in almost 46.9% of the arable land in these regions. The crop conditions were favourable from mid-July (when wheat started to develop) till late September.

Regional analysis

Considering the cropping systems, climate zones and topographic conditions, CropWatch has divided Angola into five (5) agroecological zones (AEZs): the Arid zone, Central Plateau, Humid zone, Semi-arid zone and Sub-humid zone.

In the Arid Zone, the agroclimatic indicators reveal that rainfall decreased significantly (RAIN -29%). Meanwhile, temperature and radiation increased by 0.5ºC and 1% respectively. The potential biomass for this region decreased by 15% compared to the 15-year average. In the region, crop conditions were favourable during almost the entire monitoring period, except for late October. Both the cropping intensity and CALF are higher than 5YA(111% and 34%, respectively), the maximum VCI in the arid zone was 0.76.  Crop conditions were close to the average.

With crop conditions below the average of the past five years, the rainfall in the Central Plateau region decreased by 20%. The temperature recorded an increase of 0.1ºC while radiation decreased by about 1%. Following these conditions, the potential biomass production decreased by 6%. The significant drop in the total rainfall may have led to a decrease in CALF (-15%) . But the cropping intensity increased by 22%, indicating that the annual crop area was above average. The maximum VCI for this region was 0.70. Crop conditions in this region were negative.

With both rainfall and temperature decreasing (RAIN -11% and TEMP -0.3ºC), and radiation increasing (RADPAR +3%), the Humid zone registered a drop in the potential biomass (BIOMSS -5%). However, the agroclimatic indicators had less impact on crop conditions, as the NDVI development graph revealed mixed crop conditions during the entire monitoring period. In this region, CALF was about the average of the past five years and he recorded VCIx was 0.92, indicating positive crop conditions during the growing period. The cropping intensity increased by 24%, indicating that the annual crop area was above average

Although the Semi-arid zone recorded an increase in rainfall (RAIN +1%) and radiation (RADPAR +3%), the potential biomass production in this region had decreased by 8%.  The crop conditions development graph based on NDVI reveals generally above-average crop conditions during the entire monitoring period. The cropping intensity in this region increased in 4% while CALF increased by 39%. The VCIx observed in this region was of 0.89.

In the Sub-humid zone, rainfall decreased by 17%. Both temperature and radiation increased by 0.2ºC and 1%, respectively. The potential biomass production decreased by 5%. The NDVI development graph shows that crop conditions were generally below the average of the past five years during almost the entire monitoring period. With an increase of 1% in CALF, the Cropping Intensity had increased by 15%. The maximum VCI observed in this region was 0.81.

In general, based on the agroclimatic and agronomic indicator herein reported, the crop condition in the Central Plateau, Arid and Subhumid zones were less favorable. while crop conditions of Semi-arid zone and Sub-humid zone were favourable for the growing of wheat.

(a) Phenology of major crops

(b) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI                (c) Maximum VCI

(d) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA                                                  (e) NDVI profiles

(f) National time-series rainfall profiles                                                      (g) National time-series temperature profiles

(h) Proportion of NDVI anomaly categories compared with 5YA                 (i) Proportion of VHIm categories compared with 5YA

(j) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI - Arid zone (left) and Central Plateau (right)

(k) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI - Humid zone (left) and Semi-arid zone (right)

(l) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI-Subhumid zone

Table 3.3. Angola's  agroclimatic indicators by sub-national regions, current season's values and departure from 15YA, July–October 2021

Table 3.4. Angola's agronomic indicators by sub-national regions, current season's values and departure from 5YA, July – October 2021