[{"bbox": [96, 153, 1135, 234], "category": "Text", "text": "provoke an increase in the productivity of the agricultural sector including products more adapted to climate change and nutrition-oriented, causing a decrease of prices and alleviating poverty and food insecurity and thus contributing to SDG 1 – End poverty."}, {"bbox": [96, 243, 1135, 378], "category": "Text", "text": "The Action is in line with the EU Gender Action Plan III 2021-2025³ that foresees (at least) one planned bilateral Action which has Gender Equality as the principal objective. The Action will also contribute to the EU-Africa: Global Gateway Investment Package on Education & Training, through the investment in TVET, paying particular attention to the inclusion of girls and other vulnerable groups. The Action contributes to the EU policy to tackle inequalities in developing countries⁴."}, {"bbox": [96, 389, 1135, 445], "category": "Text", "text": "This action is part of the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) ‘Diversification of Economy and Public Financial Management’."}, {"bbox": [85, 483, 324, 515], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [85, 549, 235, 577], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [96, 595, 1135, 835], "category": "Text", "text": "Starting in 2017, the Government headed by President João Lourenço initiated a series of transformational reforms in the political-administrative, social and economic systems. Following the general elections held in August 2022, the new Government announced by President Lourenço is an exercise in continuity with the major portfolios remaining in the same hands. Important legislation and programmes are in place in the areas of economic and export diversification. To move away from its dependency on fossil fuels, the Government has embarked in an ambitious programme to diversify the economy, but progress is limited and the labour market remains characterised by informality, low productivity and mismatched skills. Domestic food production is highly vulnerable to climate shocks and given the weak food system, farmers are trapped in small scale, low productivity, subsistence agriculture contributing to low nutritional outcomes impacting human development negatively."}, {"bbox": [96, 846, 1135, 1033], "category": "Text", "text": "The country confronts extreme inequalities. One in two people live below the international poverty line of USD 1.90 per day and 51% of the population suffers multidimensional poverty⁵. In the last term of 2021, 90% of employed women worked in the informal sector and 72% of men⁶, a sector characterised by poor working conditions, low salaries, no access to social welfare systems and to labour rights. Triggered by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to recurrent climate events, in 2020, the economy recorded its worst contraction in the last 40-years and real GDP fell by 5.6%⁷, exacerbating a recession that started in 2014. However, it is recovering with real GDP growth estimated at 0.7% in 2021 and forecasted at 3% in 2022 by the IMF."}, {"bbox": [96, 1044, 1135, 1231], "category": "Text", "text": "The southern provinces of Angola are experiencing the fifth consecutive year of drought conditions while the 2021 drought was the worst in over 40 years. According to the latest assessments, there have been over 1.58 million people (IPC) facing acute food insecurity in the southern part of Angola⁸. An estimated 417,000 people is facing emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4). The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) measured end 2022 was above the emergency thresholds (15%) in Huíla (19.2%) and Benguela (16.6%) provinces and nearing 15 per cent in Huambo (14.8%) while in Cunene the prevalence of acute malnutrition is (12.4%). At national level, it is estimated that 400.000 children are acutely malnourished including over 177,000 children severely malnourished⁹."}, {"bbox": [96, 1242, 1135, 1403], "category": "Text", "text": "The EU has been providing support to Angola’s ambition to diversify its economy, expand exports and integrate to the global market, become more resilient and bolster interest to embrace green growth. Implementation of the MIP is ensured by a substantial “Team Europe Initiative (TEI) focusing on Economic Diversification and sound financial management” which includes this particular Action. The TEI is of mutual interest to Angola, the EU, its Member States (notably France, Portugal and the Netherlands) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The TEI seeks to upgrade non-oil based value chains, further develop the private sector, support export promotion and"}, {"bbox": [85, 1447, 619, 1471], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ Gender Action Plan III – a priority of EU external action (europa.eu)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1471, 1145, 1515], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ Commission Staff Working Document on Implementation of the new European Consensus on Development – Addressing inequality in partner countries SWD(2019) 280 final of 14.6.2019."}, {"bbox": [85, 1514, 1145, 1559], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ 51% of the population is poor according to the Multidimensional Poverty Index (IMP-A) with large differences between rural (88% of the population) and urban population (35%). World Bank (2020), “Angola poverty assessment”."}, {"bbox": [85, 1559, 540, 1582], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ Angola Gender equality diagnosis. European Union (2022)"}, {"bbox": [85, 1580, 219, 1602], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ IMF, May 2022"}, {"bbox": [85, 1602, 636, 1625], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Angola, April 2022"}, {"bbox": [85, 1624, 286, 1645], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁹ UNICEF, February 2022"}, {"bbox": [1037, 1680, 1145, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 22"}]