In Angola,  the July-October 2018 monitoring period corresponds to the growing and beginning of harvest of wheat as well as the sowing stage of rice and maize.

According to the NDVI development graph, despite a drop registered in early August and October, crop condition was favorable in the country.   Indicators show a decrease of rainfall below average (RAIN -18%) and an increase in temperature (TEMP +2.0°C) and radiation (RADPAR +2%), resulting in a slight increase in biomass (BIOMASS +0.5%). The cropped arable land fraction during this period increased by 33% and cropping intensity was up 10%.

Excellent  crop condition (VCIx values above 1) were recorded nationwide, particularly in Benguela, Huíla, Cunene and Zaire. Also, the NDVI profiles indicate crop conditions above the average of five years departure in the south of the country. However, a significant - but temporary - drop in crop condition was observed during mid October in the north-eastern provinces of Cuanza Norte and Uíge. In general, the crop condition was favorable in Angola. 

Regional analysis

Considering the cropping systems, climatic zones and, and topographic conditions, Angola is divided into five agro‐ecological zones(AEZ): Sub‐humid, Humid, Arid, Semi‐arid and Desert.  

The Arid zone registered an increase in rainfall and a decrease in temperature compared with average (RAIN +19%, TEMP -0.1ºC). All other agro-ecological zones showed the same behavior: lower than average rainfall (-4% tp -43%), increases in TEMP (some of them excessive: +4.1C in the Desert) and an increase in sunshine (RADPAR up 1 to 5%). The increase of rainfall boosted the Biomass by more than hundred percent in the Arid zone (BIOMASS +105%). The Humid zone was the zone which showed the lowest Biomass increase compared to the departure from five years average. 

Large changes in cropped arable land were observed in Semi-arid zone (CALF +95.8%) compared to the average of past 5 years. The Desert zone and Humid zone were the two agroecological zones which showed insignificant changes on CALF during this period, 0.9 and  0.1 respectively. The maximum vegetation condition index for the Humid zone was 1.

The NDVI development graphs shows below average crop condition in the Sub-humid and Arid zones, In the Humid, Semi-arid and Desert zones, crop condition was favorable in most of the monitoring period. 

Figure 3.7. Angola’s crop condition, July– October 2018

(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) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI ‐ Sub-humid zone 

(g) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI ‐ Humid zone

(h) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI ‐ Arid zone 

(i) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI ‐ Semi‐arid zone

(j) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI ‐ Desert zone

Table 3.4. Angola agroclimatic indicators by sub‐national regions, current season's values and departure from 15YA, July ‐ October 2018

Table 3.5. Angola agronomic indicators by sub‐national regions, current season's values and departure from 5YA, July ‐ October 2018

Table 3.6. CropWatch‐estimated maize production for Angola in 2018 (thousand tons)